Whispers of the Heart
by AwkwardToffee
Summary: Mira found a mysterious enchanted book while cleaning the guild library with Laxus. A spell was triggered when the lightning dragon slayer got his hands on it. Now Mira and the whole guild have to do what that book says in order to turn Laxus back to normal or else he'll stay permanent…as what? Who wrote the book and what secrets does it hold?
1. Chapter 1: Incident at the Library

Whispers of the Heart

Chapter 1: Incident at the Library

* * *

\- X793 -

It was a perfect day for the citizens of Magnolia. The fresh morning air surrounding the city was just as right for the people's liking, neither too hot nor too cold. Everyone was out buzzing merrily along the streets, doing their daily activities while enjoying the nice weather rarely bestowed upon the town, except for one.

A tall, muscular guy marred by a lightning bolt-shaped scar over his right eye was seen treading the path towards his guild, Fairy Tail. The ever-present scowl on his face was more prominent and menacing than usual. His imposing, ominous presence a stark contrast to the cheery mood of the townsfolk.

From the corner of his golden-orange eyes, he saw a couple of bystanders he passed by flinch at the sight of his scary self. _Heh._ The man, Laxus Dreyar, huffed a breath and walked ahead, not at all bothered by the puzzled looks he was getting behind his back. They weren't used to seeing the Master's grandson walking on ground as almost all were aware he only travels through his lightning form.

The gruff lightning mage finally reached the guild and entered, a bit surprised at the strange absence of the rowdy crowd.

"Laxus!" A short, white-haired girl called out and waved at him from the bar. It was Lisanna. "You're back."

"Yeah." He sauntered to her and sat down the bar stool. "It's unusually quiet here. Where are the troublemakers?" He asked, all the while looking around for _someone._

"If you're talking about Team Natsu, they went on separate jobs. But I think they'll be here shortly."

Laxus propped an elbow on the bar top, his cheek rested on his palm and quipped. "They should take their time." _Or they better not show their faces while I'm still hanging around here_ , he thought _._ Today's peace and quiet was something he could get used to.

Lisanna let out a light laugh, understanding what the older mage meant.

"So what can I get you?" She asked.

Laxus raised a brow at her.

"Your sister ain't manning the bar this time?"

"Mm, Mira-nee's currently busy down the library. Why'd you ask? Disappointed it wasn't her tending to you?" The animal soul mage teased. Laxus saw through what she was implying and coolly dismissed the younger Strauss' remark.

"I was thinking of getting the usual but you probably don't know what that is, do you?"

Lisanna chuckled in response. "As a matter of fact, I do. She told me earlier you're coming back here."

"Huh?" The lightning mage shot her a confused look. "How did she know?"

He was away on a long-term S-class mission with no certain duration. He also couldn't recall contacting anyone that he was coming back.

Lisanna pointed her index finger upstairs. Laxus looked up and grumbled lowly at the lone man sitting on a wheelchair.

"Laxus!" The old man called out.

Golden-orange eyes narrowed. "Gramps."

"See me at my office." He commanded before wheeling out of the younger Dreyar's sight. Lisanna snickered at him.

"Looks like you're in trouble."

Laxus grumbled and demanded, "Where's my drink? I gotta down it before I go up there."

"Sorry. No can do." The younger mage gave him an apologetic smile. "Master's order."

More grumbling came out from the lightning mage's throat before he stood up and left the bar for his old man's office at the second floor. He opened the door and greeted the old man with a sour look on his face.

For a while, Laxus just stood there at the center, eyeing his gramps.

Makarov raised a bushy brow at his grandson. The silence was getting eerie. Laxus scowled as he caught glimpse of a pile of opened letters lying on his desk.

"If you're gonna say something, say it."

Makarov stared at him for a bit longer then closed his eyes.

"I take it the mission went well."

"…" The younger Dreyar made a face as he averted his grandfather's gaze. He knew oh-so-well what was coming next.

"You did a good job…YOU THINK I WOULD SAY THAT, HUH? YOU NUMBSKULL! HOW COULD YOU DESTROY THE CAPITAL'S MERCHANT SQUARE? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY APOLOGY LETTERS I NEED TO WRITE?!" Makarov yelled directly at his grandson's left ear, his head grew gigantic compared to his small body. Laxus heaved a breath in annoyance before pushing the old man's face with his palm and argued back.

"And who would've thought a dark guild was staying in one of the bar inns in the capital? Who knows what they're plotting if they managed to break into Crocus?" Then with a sneer, he added, "The kingdom should've at least thank me for saving their asses for free."

Makarov could feel his veins about to pop.

"But you didn't have to blow up the entire block!"

"Those bastards had their lackeys coming from other buildings." The blond man shrugged his shoulders. "Had to wipe them out before I got surrounded."

"I'm not stopping you for playing the hero here, but couldn't you have at least held back?!"

"It can't be helped that my magic's flashy, old man."

"If you know that, you shouldn't have bothered in the first place!" Makarov then returned to his normal size and reproached his grandson. "Oh who am I kidding? Just when I thought there is hope in you. I never in my life imagined I would still be scolding an immature brat in a 25-year old body."

"Yeah, well it pays to have an immature old geezer who always pick a fight with the magic council." Laxus chided back.

"What was that?! Are you talking back to me?" Makarov asked even if he clearly heard what he said.

"Nothing old man. You might wanna get your ears checked too."

Both fell into silent truce after that, but it didn't stop them from glaring at each other. Makarov however felt this was going nowhere so he spoke first.

"Laxus…"

"Yeah yeah. I get it now, jeez. Just don't start yelling again. My ears are ringing." Laxus complained as he leaned his back against the wall, eyes closed.

The old man in wheelchair moved back to his desk. "This incident doesn't go unpunished. You'll have to give a share of your reward money to the merchant square's renovation."

"I expected that." Laxus didn't really mind if he give the majority of his reward money. The Jewels he received after completing his mission was enough to cover the damage bill and the remaining would still last him for a few months.

"Hmm…"

Makarov stroked his moustache as he gazed at the young man. Shelling out money turned out to be a lenient punishment judging from the younger mage's tone earlier. He needed to think of another way to irritate…errm…discipline the brat, but unfortunately for him he was out of ideas.

"Are we done here? 'Cause I'm leaving if that's all." Laxus moved towards the door and opened it, just to see Lisanna standing there, a cup of tea on her other hand.

"You eavesdropping, kid?"

Lisanna frowned at him as she entered the office. "I didn't really have to. I swear you two shouting could be heard all over the place with everyone gone." She put down the cup on the desk. "Here's your tea, Master. I figured you might need it to soothe your nerves."

Just then, an idea popped inside his Makarov's head. Seeing the Strauss girl made him remember what might irk his grandson.

Clearing his throat, he said, "Laxus, don't leave just yet."

The gruff man stopped moving and looked over his shoulder.

"What now? I don't have the time to play tea party with you two." His face was visibly annoyed by now. _Good,_ Makarov thought.

"As punishment, you'll also have to help Mirajane reorganize the books in the library."

"What?" He turned his body around and scowled. "Why me? Why not her?" His scowl directed at Lisanna, whose eyes were twinkling at the Master's suggestion.

"Oh I think it's a great idea, Master! I bet she needed some help down there. And I'm sure _Laxus_ would do a perfect job." The animal soul mage chimed in eagerly, grinning knowingly at the lightning mage.

Laxus could feel his frown getting deeper by the second. "Shouldn't _you_ help your own sister?"

"I'm busy." Lisanna huffed.

"Busy my ass. There's no one to serve down there."

"Oh suck it up, Laxus." Makarov said. Lisanna stuck her tongue at him. "Why don't you just man up and face the consequences of your actions."

"Yeah, Laxus. _Man up_ and help Mira-nee." The youngest Strauss put an emphasis on the first two words, irking the man. She then nudged him by the elbow, earning her a menacing glare from the lightning mage. Lisanna knew it was half-hearted though but decided to safely distance herself away just in case. If the man in front of them was the old Laxus, she was certain she'd be fried right now.

Makarov was amused at what the youngest mage in the room was hinting to his grandson. _He's a lot easier to pick on nowadays_ , he thought to himself. Or rather, it was only ever easy whenever it involved the guild's poster girl.

"You don't have a choice here, my boy." The old man insisted.

"Do I have to do this right now?" Laxus grumpily asked. While it was fairly okay with him to spend some time with the demon Mirajane without anyone getting on their case, namely her sister (and now his grandfather), he wasn't in the best of moods to be forced to do something else other than what he planned out for today. He had more important things to do, like sleep off his exhaustion. Or go look for Wendy. He needed the little sky dragon slayer for something.

"Right now, it is. For the whole day."

"But I—"

"And before you come up with any excuse and run off to god knows where, I'll bar you from taking other missions if you don't follow my order."

That sealed the win for Makarov as Laxus grumbled in exasperation.

"Tch. Fine. But I'm only agreeing so you two can stop pestering me." He exited the room leaving the two behind, his black fur-trimmed coat fluttering slightly.

"Wow you got him there, Master." Lisanna commented. Makarov didn't seem to hear the girl next to him, deep in thought.

"Is there something wrong, Master?" She asked, suddenly concerned. The old man shook his head.

"Ah, nothing's wrong, my dear." Makarov looked up at her and gave a small smile. "I was just thinking how boring the Masters' meeting will be later." _And how tempting it is to ditch it,_ he snickered to himself.

Lisanna nervously laughed at him. Afterwards, she turned towards the door and excused herself before stepping out of the office.

That left Makarov back in his own thoughts.

"Hmm…"

 _Does that idiot think I didn't notice?_

With a deep sigh, he just said to no one, "Honestly…when will that brat grow up? I want to retire already."

* * *

The sound of a creaking door being opened made Mirajane turn her head to the newcomer.

"Welcome back, Laxus." She happily greeted the gruff man, whose side was leaning on the doorway. Laxus didn't return the gesture and instead stepped into the room.

"Got yourself in trouble again?" Mira asked.

"Don't make it sound like I'm Natsu or Erza." Laxus replied.

"So what happened?"

The lightning mage shrugged. "Just a bar fight."

Mirajane chuckled to herself knowing it wasn't only as simple as he made it out to be. She was the one in charge of receiving all the incoming letters to the guild after all. It was only yesterday when an official letter from the kingdom addressed to the Master and Laxus reached the guild. Makarov read its contents loud enough for Mira to hear. Both were surprised at the first paragraphs since thwarting a dark guild sneakily roaming around Crocus wasn't originally the lightning mage's S-class mission. The letter then stated that although the kingdom was indeed grateful for the young man's intervention, a compensation for the damaging the merchant square was in order.

Merchant Square was a quarter of the size of Magnolia. As the name suggests, that place was where trading goods and hiring services took place in the capital. The block was also dubbed 'the nightlife' of Crocus as it was crowded with bars and beer gardens.

Until Laxus unintentionally managed to destroy most of it.

Makarov felt like his remaining hair was about to fall off his head as he read the amount to be paid. Mira sweat dropped.

It was a bit strange to her though. Laxus wasn't the type of guy who charges into reckless, explosive fights unless he was either too drunk to care or he got provoked badly. The latter being the most plausible as the man can almost hold his liquor at Cana's level.

She sort of pitied those poor souls.

"What are you doing up there?" Laxus asked, sauntering towards the white-haired woman. She was standing on a ladder, her fingers lightly tapping the books' spines.

Mira broke from her own musings and replied. "Shelf-reading. After this, there are also the new books Master wanted to put into catalog." She gestured to the huge boxes scattered on the floor before returning to her work.

"Heh…" He walked past the mess around him, looking nonchalant at the amount of work needed to be done. But deep inside, he was cursing his gramps.

 _Jeez. What a pain in the ass._

Laxus now stood beside the ladder supporting Mira when he heard her chuckling.

"Maybe you should be the one up here and do the checking, hm?" Mira suggested, glancing at the man below her who was just idling and not doing anything to help her out.

Laxus looked up at the woman and was about to speak when his words quickly died in his throat. His eyes accidentally caught a glimpse of 'dark purple' underneath Mira's dress. A smirk crept up to his lips.

"Nah. I'll pass to that. I don't think the ladder can support my weight. Besides, I'm kinda enjoying the _view_ from down here."

His words suddenly threw Mirajane off guard, mouth slightly open in shock. She felt her cheeks flushed pink from embarrassment as she realized what _view_ he was getting from his vantage point.

"Laxus!" She glowered at the blond. Laxus didn't move though, only smirking wider much to Mira's chagrin. She threw a book at him with great force it only took a second for it to be caught casually by the man below her. And she was several feet higher to boot. Mira clucked her tongue, secretly hoping her throw would hit him straight in the face but then she thought it would take lightning speed to hit the lightning mage himself.

"Come on, I was just teasin' you." Laxus chuckled in amusement. Riling up the demon hidden under her cheery, 'nice-girl' persona was always entertaining for him. "For a well-known gravure chick, you sure get embarrassed easily." Then without a warning he threw the book back at her with equal force. Mira managed to catch it in time before it hit her, almost losing her balance on the ladder as she did so.

The demon mage scowled at Laxus. For years, it remained a mystery to her how easily he could manage to get under her skin compared to others.

Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself before speaking, "Aren't you supposed to help me here? Well don't just stand there."

"Alright, alright." Deciding to stop poking fun at the demon for now, Laxus moved from his spot to the table across from the bookshelf Mira was working on. He sat down the lone chair and asked, "So what do you want me to do? I ain't a library person if you're asking."

"You can start by arranging those pile of books on the floor according to their catalog number. You know how, do you?" Mira asked, not bothering to look over to the guy as she continued to inspect the books in front of her.

"More or less."

"I'll leave it to you then."

* * *

Half an hour has passed since Laxus started working on some titles. He swore he could feel a headache coming. The numbers and letters were confusing the hell out of him and he now regret a lot of things, like sitting in front of this table and giving Mira the idea for him to be in charge of this. Or he could have just said no to gramps and took off. He would have been resting peacefully in his bed right now.

If only he knew ahead that Wendy wasn't here, he wouldn't have come to the guild and deal with the old man's whim. His dragon senses weren't working on his favor recently.

Suddenly his thoughts fled to his team's whereabouts. It was already three months since he last saw them. Laxus remembered they were a bit miffed at him when he said he was going to an S-class mission on his own and that mission would take him an uncertain amount of time to finish. Usually they didn't mind, in fact it was encouraged now and then to go off alone or team up with others so they could all expand their skillset and gain some new experiences.

But the S-class mission Laxus came back from was a truly bothersome one. The Raijinshuu knew about it, but even if it they badly wanted to go with him, they instead trusted their idol's word. Besides, they knew they'll get killed either by the hands of those monsters or by the violent stormy climate that plagued the place. It just perfectly suited Laxus' element and the mission was considered an emergency so he accepted it and left the town.

Then he was back, and he wouldn't admit it out loud but he was expecting a little that those three were around the time he arrived.

They weren't.

Laxus grumbled to himself. They probably took off to some lengthy-ass mission to distract themselves from his absence. Just when he needed the company…especially that he's stuck in this dusty library doing boring stuff.

He imagined if the three were here, the job would have been over by now. Bickslow would've said something inappropriate, funny or both by now, (mostly the first and last one), his dolls circling around the room being more useful than the actual mage himself. Evergreen might've either be of decent help or bitch about the situation. It would depend on her last interaction with Elfman. And Freed will take over for him. Then Laxus would've…

He sighed. He'd rather wrestle with an army of Vulcans and Wyverns. Take on dozens of dark guilds. Heck, he'd even cook for his old man Yajima's restaurant.

Out of the sudden, he felt somewhat light-headed. He rested his cheek on his palm, his elbow supporting the weight of his head. His vision turned hazy then clear, back and forth as he focused on reading the book's title in his other hand.

 _Tch. Not again._

He was like that for a couple of minutes until a soft voice spoke.

"You're spacing out."

Laxus looked over his shoulder. Mira was standing behind him. Concern filled her eyes.

"You've been staring at that book for the whole ten minutes."

Laxus raised a brow. He was? He didn't notice.

It took a short while before he replied back, "I wasn't."

Mira sighed, knowing he lied to her just now and commented, "I was here for the past ten minutes." She inched closer to the man's face and continued. "You seem out of it."

He felt his jaw tense. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Mira gave him a perplexed look before saying, "You should've just told me the truth, Laxus." Before the lightning mage could explain himself, she cut him off, hand tapping to the stacked books he finished organizing. "You got it all wrong." She shook her head in disapproval to emphasize her point.

 _Wha—?_

"You don't really know how this works, do you?"

Laxus blinked at her. He thought that she noticed but luckily for him she didn't. He didn't want to deal with anyone in his current condition. Then his brows furrowed as Mira shooed him away from his seat. Leaning his side against the bookshelf for support, he observed the woman redo his work. There wasn't anything good to gaze at in the library after all.

"Isn't this supposed to be that bookworm's job? Where is she anyway?"

"Levy's on a job with Gajeel and her team."

"Ho~?" Laxus let out a small smirk, his voice laced with amusement. "The metal head's getting cockblocked again? Sucks to be him."

Mira couldn't help resisting the smile forming on her lips. She sort of agreed with the blond man but just not liking the crude term he used.

"I'm sure Levy just want those three to get closer."

Laxus snorted, not believing a word she said. "Yeah right." He was about to cross his arms when he halted midway and swiftly dropped them down.

The demon mage glanced at him. She thought she saw him looking uncomfortable for a second but shrugged it off. She focused her attention back to the books. A couple of minutes were spent in a comfortable silence.

"And it's done." Mira smiled as she finished reorganizing Laxus' share of work. She then turned to him and asked, "Can you carry the boxes and stack them all on the corner?"

Laxus silently complied. He removed his infamous coat and hung it on the chair. He then proceeded to lift two to three boxes up on his shoulder at a time. Mira watched him for a while and thought the man was unusually focused on his work, the look on his face a tad…intense, for the lack of a better term.

"What's with him today?" She muttered.

Again, she shrugged her thoughts off and climbed her way back up the ladder again, this time working on the next shelf.

That shelf was three-fourths empty. Only the top was occupied with old, crumply, dusty books. Mira worked her fingers on the spines, checking if a title was misplaced.

Indeed there was one seated on the fourth row. All guild books must have labels imprinted on it, but this one in particular didn't have any number nor title embossed on its spine.

 _How strange._

Mira pulled it out and coughed at how dusty it was. She assumed it was probably an old book that survived a fire. The dark brown, almost maroon cover was slightly charred black and she figured the dust were actually fine ashes. Her free hand reached for the damp rug lying on the empty row and swiped it on the book.

Still no title or author.

Curiosity got the best of her even though she knew there is a chance that this book might trigger some ancient spell. Carefully, she opened the book at random page near the end.

It was blank.

She scanned it some more and saw a few pages with small black squares, each the size of a single character. It looked as if those squares were hiding written letters underneath it. Her fingers slowly traced the black markings. Mira even tried to gently scratch one with her nail but it didn't seem to work that way.

Flipping to the other pages, her eyes finally caught up words she recognized. Although she couldn't exactly read and comprehend eastern script.

Fiore was a western country thus it was rare to meet people who can read and speak eastern script. Mira thought hard if she knew someone who can. This book was very much intriguing her.

 _Gray came from Iceberg, but I don't think the language there differ much from the western one. Bisca and Alzack told me they were immigrants before joining Fairy Tail. But they just went out for a mission. Maybe I can ask them when they got back…_

Mira's eyes lit up as she remembered someone.

"Oh how could I almost forgot?" She asked out loud.

"Forgot what?"

Mira squeaked in surprise. She frowned the second she looked down at Laxus. He was at _that_ spot again. Sensing the demon mage was about to throw a book again at him, Laxus swiftly took five steps back to appease her growing annoyance. Mira narrowed her eyes at him before going back to her neutral expression.

He asked her again. "So what did you forgot?"

"Oh, I just suddenly remembered Levy knowing eastern script."

"Eastern script?" That got Laxus curious. "What for?"

"Nothing much." Mira dismissed him. She wouldn't want Laxus to find out about the strange book. She knew he'd tell her not to mess around with it.

"If you're done, there's still a few boxes left on the back room."

Laxus groaned inwardly. He head off to the said room. Mira quickly peeked to see if he was completely gone before flipping the book open once more.

Aside from the black marks and eastern scribbles, she observed there were two different handwritings. One was refined and elegant while the other was a bit sloppy and inconsistent. It was as if the book was co-authored and the other writer had really, _really,_ poor handwriting. Or probably a child had managed to vandalize some of the pages.

And speaking of pages, some only had a few words. And a lot of spaces in between paragraphs.

It was the strangest book Mira had ever encountered in the guild library.

After skimming some more, she saw several sketches of lacrima and magic seals.

 _So it's a magic book after all…_

Since the front cover were void of any details, Mira turned to the first page to check the book's title. As expected, she couldn't read it. But what was written at the bottom made her eyes widened.

 _Huh?_

The demon mage slowly inched away her face from the cryptic book, confusion painted her features.

…

 _Laxus'?_

...

"Hey Laxus!" The white-haired woman called him out, her eyes never leaving the book she was holding.

"Yeah?" The man shouted back. He stepped out of the small room carrying a large box on his right shoulder.

Mira turned around. "Is this—"

 _Oh crap!_

She lost her balance as she turned around. Her hands quickly reached out to the bookshelf's wooden ledge in reflex. Her fingers successfully gripped a small part of it but it wasn't enough to hold on to. It also didn't help that the bookshelf wasn't as sturdy as she thought. The nails and screws at the base couldn't support the woman's weight. A loud snapping sound of wood breaking resonated in the silent room. The whole bookshelf tilted down on itself and plummeted to the hard cold ground with Mirajane at the middle. Then she shut her eyes hard and remembered how to scream.

* * *

…

…

"You dumbass."

Mira gently cracked her eyes open. Ocean blue orbs stared at golden-orange ones.

"You okay?" Laxus asked. His voice was a little strained and huskier than usual. He gazed down at the woman lying below him on the floor, looking alarmed and concerned when he didn't get a reply.

Mira only stared at the blond man on top of her, a little disoriented.

She turned her head to the side only to realize that a hand, _his hand,_ was protectively cupping the back of her head from hitting the floor. She glanced at his right forearm flat on the ground, his biceps flexed as it was trying to push the weight above him from squashing the two of them.

Words got caught in her throat.

Looking past behind Laxus' towering figure was the gigantic, broken bookshelf resting on top of the man's back, trapping the both of them down to the ground.

"Oi Mira."

Her eyes quickly darted to the blond.

"Laxus! W-Why are you…Are you okay?" Mira sputtered out. She can't help but trace the beads of sweat tricking from his forehead down along his jawline. The bookshelf must really be that heavy if Laxus couldn't lift it off them by himself. He was a looking a bit out of breath too.

"I'm fine. Just…stuck. Are you hurt?"

"No. But—"

"Good."

Laxus tried to push out the shelf weighing down on him when he felt a jolt of pain on his back. "Damnit." He hissed. His scarred eye squinted hard. _God that hurts._

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Mira panicked. Without much thought, her hand touched his cheek.

"It's nothing." Laxus breathed heavily. He was sure Mira wasn't convinced from the look she was giving him. Before she could ask more questions, he asked, "Can you crawl your way out?"

"I can push the shelf—"

"Shit." His knees gave in as well as his other arm. Mira gasped when she felt Laxus' body suddenly pressing down on hers. She could feel his thumping chest against hers, as well as his ragged breaths fanning her earlobe. Blood rushed up to her face in an instant, realizing if Laxus failed to dodge her face from his abrupt fall, their lips could have possibly crashed onto each other by now.

Her heart raced out of control at the thought.

 _Calm down, Mira! This isn't the right time to think about that!_

The demon mage blinked hard in an effort to distract herself. She turned her head to face Laxus. He was still pushing hard against the shelf's weight, wincing in pain every time he did so.

 _I knew it! There's something wrong with him after all!_

Mira lifted her free arm grabbing a ledge and pushed it away from Laxus. She grunted. The bookshelf was indeed extremely heavy. She only managed to lift it up a little. A rough exhale came out from the blond man as he felt the load on his back got lessened. Finally he rested his forehead on the floor, catching his breath for a couple of seconds before he turned to Mira.

"Use your magic now!" Mira commanded. Her arm was already shaking from the strain. She couldn't use the other since it was still trapped under the man's weight.

"You want me to blow this thing up?"

"You can turn us into lightning, right?"

Laxus scowled. She was dead right about that. However…"Why don't you use yours?"

"I can't. If I transform here I might stab you with my claw." Mira argued, gesturing to her other trapped arm. "Hurry!" She looked really struggling to hold off the weight from him. Laxus bit his lip.

"Tch. No other choice then."

Laxus forced to lift himself up on all fours and nudged Mira's arm joint hard with his elbow. Mira yelped in surprise, her grip on the ledge instantly loosened and the full weight fell back again on Laxus'. He dove down to her to gain momentum, stopping by mere inches away from her, then pushed himself against the damn bookshelf with all he'd got, ignoring the sharp excruciating pain coursing on his back and arms. He grunted as the shelf finally tilted backwards, leaning against the wall.

Laxus breathed out. "Didn't expect that…dumb bookshelf to be that damn heavy." He slumped down sitting on the floor, eyes shut close. It took all of his strength to move that huge piece of wood and he's certain the demon mage is on his case now.

"You alright, Mira?"

Mira took a deep breath, sat up and scooted closer to the man.

"Laxus…" The woman started. Her tone reminded him of a mother who caught his child doing something bad. She sighed. "Let me see it." She looked really worried about him by now.

"See what?" The lightning mage kept his best stoic face plastered on. He hated it whenever he was caught hiding something so as usual he tried to deny the obvious.

"You need to try better that. You know what I mean. You hurt your back, didn't you?"

"It's not—"

"Take off your clothes."

Laxus quirked a brow. If this was any other situation, he would have probably laughed out loud by now.

"Take it off." She demanded, his voice stern and firm. Purple tiles circled around her arms and soon claws and armored scales took form.

 _Tch._ Laxus knew there's no room for excuses any longer. He puffed, grumbling lowly before unclasping the buttons on his black shirt. The white long-sleeved shirt underneath soon followed. He tossed his pieces of clothing beside and she noticed a big red blotch on the white one. Mira frowned as she saw a couple of bandages on the man's body. She moved to face his back and cut the reddened bandage with her claws. The sight that greeted her made her gasp in shock.

"Laxus! This is—it looks bad!"

There was a deep long cut across his back. Blood seeped out of the wound and some of the stitches have been undone. It also looked like the cut was stretched and needed re-stitching, all thanks to the ledge hitting that specific spot on his back earlier.

"Like I said, it's nothing to fuss about."

Mira clenched her fist resting on Laxus' back. "I-I'm sorry. I was a total airhead and I shouldn't have—"

Laxus looked over his shoulder and reassured her. "Hey, it's not your fault."

"Still…" Mira looked down, her eyes sad. Laxus scratched the back of his neck and sighed. "Don't blame yourself. You're not the stupid one who got injured."

"I should get some supplies." She hastily marched out of the room, probably to the infirmary.

 _It's like her to worry about small stuff like this._ Laxus smirked, closing his eyes. _If she hadn't changed back then, she'd probably jump at this chance to kill me._

Mira came back with a medic box and motioned the dragon slayer to move to the farthest table beside the tall window. It was pretty dim in the library and since Mira decided she'd have to re-stitch his wound herself, she needed all the light she could get.

The two sat down on the empty chairs, Laxus' back facing Mira, who was cleaning the blood off his skin. Laxus instantly felt the sting caused by the antiseptic.

"How did you get this?"

Laxus exhaled deeply, feeling exhausted as he recalled what happened to him for the last three-months. "It was a simple monster subjugation mission. My job was to stop them from reproducing and rampaging the town below the mountain where they're staying. Gramps put me in charge 'cause those freaks can also control and weaponize lightning. Not a single day without thunderstorms on that place."

"Must be a nice place to move in." Mira quipped.

"My ears almost bled." Laxus deadpanned.

The woman chuckled a bit before prodding him to continue.

"Apparently those shitheads also feed off from lightning attacks, so I had to knock 'em down with my bare hands. It was like that for two whole months and it worked for me. Or at least that's what I thought. I found out there was a 'mother' hiding in one of the caves reviving those bastards in secret."

Mira listened intently to Laxus' story while she worked around cleaning his wound.

"I got lured into it and they started attacking me with lightning from every direction."

The woman gasped, the suspense eating her. "What happened next?"

Laxus grimaced. He could still feel his stomach churn from the memory. "I managed to absorb everything and throw it all back to them. They were all killed off in that single shot." A short pause before he followed, "…But in return, I lost control of my lightning."

"You lost control?" Mira asked, surprised to hear that from Laxus of all people. Everyone in the guild knew and admire his mastery of his own element. Then it hit her. "You mean until now you can't use your magic?"

"Mostly." He grumbled. "A pain in the ass. Flaring up." He muttered lowly to himself. However the demon mage's ear picked it up.

"Flaring up?"

Laxus sighed. He didn't want to explain that part. "Magic overload."

Mira hummed in thought. "But that doesn't explain the injury."

"After the cave incident, I went outside to see another herd of those monsters waiting for me to come out. They probably felt the spike in magic energy and got attracted to it. It was getting pretty late that night and they all thought I'd be good enough for dinner. Turns out they were spot on. I got bit on the back."

"How could you let that happen?" Mira was astounded. If he hadn't told her that, she would have never seen it as a bite wound. It looked more like his back got slashed rather than bitten. She shuddered at the pain he dealt with.

The lightning mage didn't really want to answer her, but he knew she won't stop asking. "I blacked out in the middle of the fight due to magic exhaustion."

Laxus felt Mira's hand stopped moving.

There was a pregnant pause before the blond man yelled, "Ow! What the hell was that for?" He turned his body to glare at the demon mage who was also equally frowning at him.

"That's for being reckless." Scolded Mira. "Don't turn around yet." She gripped his shoulders and twisted him back into place.

Laxus grunted, the pain on his back throbbing at the sudden movements. "Yeah, well I gotta do what I gotta do. Besides, you know you can't just go home from an S-class mission without any some sort of a keepsake."

Mira sighed. "I'm aware of that but can't you just be a little more careful on yourself?"

"Jeez, you sound like the old man," whined Laxus.

Mira finished cleaning the wound. Afterwards, she put on the surgical glove and surveyed the part of the wound needed to be re-stitched.

"This is gonna hurt." She warned.

"I'm not a friggin' baby, I can handle a little pain—ow!"

The demon mage lightly chuckled. She purposely pressed a small swollen area around the wound with her finger. "What was that again?"

"Okay now you're just messing with me." Laxus looked over his shoulder, his eye twitching in annoyance.

Mira huffed. "That's for not telling me earlier that you're injured."

"What do you care?" He mumbled. It was the truly the first thing in his mind but he didn't exactly planned for Mira to hear it.

"Of course I care about you Laxus." Her voice was soft, calming and reassuring to his ears. "What makes you think I was otherwise?"

The man lowered his gaze. He knew what to say to that, and truth be told it was making him uncomfortable. "Do I have to answer that?"

Mira shook her head and smiled sadly even if the man couldn't see it. "No, you don't."

* * *

An uncomfortable silence engulfed the two. The only sounds in the room were the fluttering of curtains against the wind and the clanking of metal whenever Mira puts down the scissors on the tray. She wasn't done in re-stitching Laxus' wound, and he expected it was going to be painful enough to make him groan. Surprisingly he managed to hold it back down his throat. But his injury was the least of his concern at the moment. Their last conversation a few minutes ago felt like it did a number on him more than the monster who cut his back open.

Feeling a tad responsible for the sudden awkwardness, Laxus opened his mouth to say something…but he didn't know what to say exactly. Just then, his eyes caught a glint of metal hidden behind the pile of books stacked on the table in front of him. He reached for that object. It was a picture of them when they were still snot-nosed brats (except him). And well, Macao and Wakaba too for obvious reasons.

"Hn? This is from way back."

Mira noticed what he was holding and smiled softly, "Mm. When Happy was born. Lucy accidentally found that picture when she helped me out here before."

Laxus stared at the picture, holding it closer to his face. The guild brats were all watching their little fire dragon slayer ride a blue mini dragon he could only assume was Happy. He didn't know why the cat was drawn like that, and not like he's interested. What caught Laxus' attention was the familiar blond brooding on the side. He was leaning on a pillar, arms folded as he watched the scene looking uninterested. "I was also here?" He quirked an eyebrow at himself being there.

Mira looked up from his back and peeked. "You certainly were." She teased, "My my, having memory gaps now?"

Laxus frowned in disagreement. "Cut it out. I ain't an old man."

The woman only giggled at him. "Still… this takes me back."

"Yeah, you little runts keep messing up the guild with your childish antics." The blond man complained then smirked, "And guess who the frontrunner was?

"Who?"

"The demon, obviously."

Mira blinked. "I think you've mistaken me for Gray and Natsu. Although…you might be right. I had it bad back then." She let out a light laugh. "It was tons of fun though."

Laxus gave her a look. "I don't think you can say that to the person in charge of breaking all of your fights when things got out of control." Mira chuckled in return. Laxus sighed inwardly. The awkwardness earlier was long forgotten and instead the room was now drowned in Mira's soft laughter. Laxus couldn't help the smile tugging on the corner of his lips. They talked and reminisced about the past, how it was for them back then, all good and nothing was too touchy or uncomfortable.

Mira hummed. "It's good that we spent our childhood in the guild."

"Why's that so?"

"Hmm…Because there's always something fun to do with others."

Laxus glanced over the happy faces in the picture. "Good for you then."

"You, on the other hand, didn't want to play with us. You were always moping on the edge of the hall."

The gruff man snorted. "Right. Like I'd hang out with a bunch of eight-year olds." He held onto the belief for the longest time that no self-respecting 'adult', if 17 years-old was already considered one, hangs out with kids on his free time.

"Erza and I were thirteen that time. And you were like a 50-year old stingy, unsociable man back then."

A low grunt escaped his throat at that remark. "Mira, need I remind you I was already S-class when I was seventeen, the same year when you got here?"

"And so?"

"I didn't have the time to play with you losers." Laxus commented in his usual standoffish tone.

The white-haired barmaid sighed for the umpteenth time that day. "Sometimes, I wonder if you ever had a fun childhood."

Laxus visibly flinched. Mira at that moment realized the gravity of her words. She bit her cheek, quickly regretting what she just said to him when she already knew the answer. It wasn't her intention to know but whenever the Master gets too drunk, at very rare times he would talk about how bad Ivan went downhill in the past and how Laxus suffered the most because of his son's foolishness. Mira couldn't comprehend it fully at that time. She was still new in her position as a barmaid and the Master's unofficial assistant when she first heard it and the old man didn't really gave her too much details. It also didn't help that everyone knew Laxus as that arrogant, cocky, self-centered, power-hungry bastard who looks down on everyone he considers weak.

Before Lisanna's so-called 'death', she was one of those people who shamelessly think of him that way. Mira of the past didn't bother to know what his real deal was, or rather she just knew from the rumors circling behind his back but never pondered too hard on it. And so at one time she was pissed off at him, she brought it up in front of everyone.

Not exactly the Mira of the present was proud of. She remembered clearly how he looked like when she said that. It was the first time she'd seen him look so different. A mixture of anger, frustration, confusion and regret crossed his face that day.

Now she'd done it again.

"Laxus, I—" Mira was about to apologize when the blond man broke it off.

"It's alright. I can't remember most of it anyway."

Mira didn't utter a word after that. She just smiled sadly at him and finished stitching his wound. She put on herb cream on it so it wouldn't get infected before she wrapped it up with fresh bandages. "It's done." She softly spoke. Laxus murmured a thanks before turning around to face her. He noticed that the woman was looking down at the floor, as if it was more interesting to gaze at than him.

 _Was it because of what she said a while ago?_

He frowned at that and sighed before he roughly ruffled Mira's white hair, earning a half-hearted glare from the woman.

"What was that for?" She pouted, her hands swatting his large one away from her head. Her pristine, cutesy hairdo was ruined now.

Laxus shrugged his shoulders, not giving a glance at her. "Just feel like doing it."

Mira stared at him. _Is this his idea of cheering me up?_

And then she laughed. Laxus raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

It took a while before Mira could respond properly. "You…" She jabbed a finger on his chest while her other arm was wrapped around her stomach, tears threatening to spill from the corner of her crinkled eyes. "You're…really awkward." She said in between laughs.

Laxus gawked at her. "Ha?" He shot her a confused look. What did he do just now that made her think he was awkward?

Mira continued to laugh at him though. "Master and the Raijinshuu were right." Her fingers were wiping her happy tears away before her hand flew over her mouth stifling a laugh again.

Laxus crossed his arms in irritation despite the soreness he felt in his muscles. "What did those idiots say this time?"

Mira took a while to catch her breath before meeting his gaze. "You figure it out on your own." She smiled at him. Laxus huffed, averting his eyes from her blue large ones. He decided to let it slide since he wasn't really that interested.

Okay maybe he was.

"Spill it." He quickly grabbed Mira's hair tie which was already loosely dangling from her bangs. "Before I roast this thing." He threatened her. It was childish of him to do that but whatever. He was kind of having fun at the moment, wanting to see Mira pout at him again and...No, it was probably the blood loss messing with his head.

She laughed at him again though. Her hand dug into her dress pocket and she took out another hair tie. "I have a spare." She giggled. "You can have that if you want."

"…"

Laxus lowly grumbled in defeat as he took her hand and gave her hair tie back to her. He watched her fix her snowy white hair back in place and said, "Why would you even tie it up when you already look good with all of your hair down?"

Mira stopped what she was doing and gaped at Laxus.

 _Did he just gave me a compliment out of the blue?_

"You think so?" She asked. For some unknown reason, she suddenly felt giddy.

Laxus bent down a little and eyed her closer. Mira stood there frozen, entranced at the man. She never thought how captivating his golden-orange eyes were.

"Yeah." His face was getting closer and closer. Her eyes widened slowly as he kept his strong gaze at her. She silently cursed at herself how difficult it was not to get affected by him.

"Laxus?" Mira softly called him out. She put a hand over her chest. "Is there…something wrong?" She gingerly asked. The man seemed lost in a daze.

"You…" The blond stared deep at her blue orbs. "You look like…" He cut himself off before he could continue. A hand pressed lightly on his right eye as he looked down.

 _Why did I…What was I going to say just now?_

"Damn my head's messed up." He groaned as he pulled himself away.

Mira was dumbfounded for a while.

 _He's really acting strange today._

Her brows folded in concern at him. "Do you want to take a short rest?"

The lightning mage glanced at her before he darted his eyes to the books and some wooden splinters scattered across the floor. "It's alright." He puffed a breath at the massive clutter. The library looked like it was ten times messier than when he walked in earlier. He picked up his white long-sleeved shirt from the floor, put it on and started collecting a few books on his arms despite the painful protest from his back. Mira followed suit.

After clearing some space, Laxus spoke. "Remind me again why you fell down earlier."

 _Oh..._ Mira thought. _That's right!_

"I was reading this book. I was about to ask you something when I forgot I was still on the ladder. I fell when I turned around." She nervously laughed at herself.

"What an idiot", muttered Laxus. Heaving a sigh, he continued, "So what are you gonna ask?"

Mira bit her lip before responding, "It has something to do with that book."

"What about it?"

"It has your initials."

"Huh?" Laxus was puzzled. "My initials?"

Mira nodded, hands busy searching and digging for the book in question. "It has a maroon-colored cover and was slightly burnt on the—here it is!" She found it raised the book over her head. Laxus went over to her side and peered at it.

Somehow it looked familiar to him.

 _Why do I feel like I've seen it before?_

"Let me see." Mira handed him the book. Once his fingers came into contact with the cover, he felt a strange sensation coursing through him. He carefully opened the book and his eyes widened at the name written on the first page.

"How—", he whispered.

But before he could finish, a bright white light flashed from the book, blinding the two mages.

That was the last time Mira saw Laxus before she passed out on the floor.

* * *

 **Author's note:** Holy hell that was too long for the first chapter. I didn't expect it to be over 8k words to be honest. Also, I hope the library part wasn't too confusing and overly done. I know I'm quite inexperienced with narration and describing stuff so please if you noticed something sounding off or just plain weird, kindly drop down a review. Pointing out grammar mistakes and wrong word usage are also greatly appreciated. English isn't my first language. It's my second language and I only use it when I write for school. I wrote this so I could have practice writing again for myself (yay) and for Miraxus shippers out there like me (double yay!).

What to expect in this fic? Uhh…fluff, cute moments (you'll find out soon) and flashbacks. Tons of it. And some (family) drama. Btw, this is more of a Laxus-centric piece with hints of Miraxus. There will be chapters where romance isn't blatant or there's none at all. But they're both the main characters. So yeah. That's about it.

 **Other important things to note:** This fic is set a year after Acnologia's defeat and the end of Alvarez war. Team Natsu never went to a 100-year quest. They'll appear in this fic soon. Lucy didn't won her award in September of X973 but in an earlier month. And Laxus' outfit was from his post-time skip/ Raigo Issen last chapter getup in case you're wondering where I based his clothing. God he looked damn fine in that.

 **Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail belongs to Mashima Hiro-sensei.

…

I'm looking forward to sharing this with you guys! I hope you enjoyed reading this. Watch out for the next chap!

-AwkwardToffee


	2. Chapter 2: Yuri

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail belongs to Mashima Hiro-sensei

 **Author's Note:** There's a small NaLu moment in this chapter (if you squint hard enough). If you're not comfortable with reading NaLu, you can skip that small part at the end. Well, it's your choice. : )

* * *

Whispers of the Heart

Chapter 2: Yuri

* * *

\- X793 -

 _Huh?_

 _Why do I feel…cold and wet?_

Slowly, he cracked his eyes open. The gray sky that greeted him was mostly blocked by a number of leaves letting down big fat drops of rain on his face and body.

Since when did he manage to fall asleep outside? Last time he checked, he was confined in the Magnolia hospital.

His senses went overdrive as he took in more of his surroundings. This place looked familiar. _East Forest?_ What was he doing here? And why was he lying on a pool of mud, feeling icky and—wait why was he dressed in a white (and now muddy) oversized long-sleeved shirt? And only the shirt. His underwear was missing. How on Earthland did that happen?

 _Don't panic. Don't panic._ He reassured himself. _Did I sleepwalk?_

No. That didn't seem to be the case. _I never sleepwalk!_

Just then, a sudden voice roared behind him.

"Ho ho ho~, what a lucky day! I got myself a snack!"

His eyes followed where the voice was and his whole body stiffened at the sight behind him. Huge, muscular, looks like a monkey. He instantly recognized that kind of monster. "G-Gorian?"

"Damn straight kid."

The boy's legs didn't react at the first seconds he willed himself to run away from the monster. Not that running helped because the moment he tried to do so, he tripped himself and plunged back to the wet ground. The Gorian mockingly laughed at him as he picked up the brat by his humongous hairy hand.

"L-Let me go, you ugly piece of crap!" The boy glowered at the monster. The monster in return guffawed at him.

"Yeah. Great job with the glarin' kid. Ohhhh I'm so scared." He inched his face closer towards his prey, making the boy pull himself away from the monster's smelly breath.

"You should be the one who's scared! You don't know who you're messing with!"

The Gorian shot him a bemused look. "Oh a feisty one! I'm gonna enjoy eating you." He cackled. "But I ain't gonna feast on a stinkin' punk, so I'm gonna rinse you a bit." They started moving. "Hmm...Should I eat you raw or maybe char you a little under a fire? Which one do 'ya prefer, huh?"

The boy kept squirming to escape. Then he decided to bit the monster's hand.

"Ow! Shit that friggin' hurt", yelped the monster, anger etched on its face. It didn't know the kid got this real pointy canine.

"That's it! You're no more, you little fucker!"

The trapped boy would have been proud of himself back then but only cursed at what he did. He expected that the Gorian would release him from his clutches when he bit its hand, but no. It only squeezed his body harder, almost knocking out the remaining air he got in his lungs.

"I'm gonna kill you now!"

Panic rose up to the boy's chest upon hearing that. The monster tightened his hold on him. He couldn't breathe properly, much less shout for help. There wasn't any other choice for him.

He needed to use his magic. Or else he'll be a goner. And soon.

He shut his eyes and concentrated hard. Really hard.

He got none.

 _Come on! I can't die here!_

None.

 _Why can't I—_

The monster was roaring with laughter. He licked his thick purple lips as he salivated at the helpless boy. "Done with your prayers?"

 _I'm gonna—_

None.

A vision of his father crossed his mind.

 _I can't—_

 _Can't…breathe._

"Open, Gate of the Horseman! Sagitarrius!"

He blacked out.

...

* * *

The boy opened his dark-bluish eyes. It seemed like he fell asleep again, but this time he was a little bit dry and warm. He was also sitting on something hard. It felt and smelt like…wood? He quickly stood up as he realized he was encased in a vertical, wooden trap. He looked at this unfamiliar territory, his hands pressed firmly against the glass.

A room? A girl's room? It sure was. The place was flooded with pink everywhere he looked.

He banged his hands on the glass and tried to shout for help, feeling claustrophobic. But it seemed no one could hear him, until a voice spoke.

"AHHHHHH HEEEELP ME I'M STUCK HERE, he says."

"What?"

"What, he says."

The boy searched for the source of the voice around the room but couldn't find any person aside from him. Then he realized...

"Did that voice came from this clock?"

Finally, it replied. "Yes, that would be I, Horologium."

"Eh?! T-The clock just spoke!" He freaked out.

"Eh?! T-The clock just spoke, he says."

"You don't have to say what I just said, you know!"

"You don't have to say what I just said, you know, he says."

This weirdo clock was ticking him off. "Get me outta here!"

"I am afraid I cannot until Lucy-sama orders your release."

"Lucy-sama? Who's that?"

As if answering his question, the door opened. "I'm back!"

The clock turned by itself to greet the newcomer. An older blonde girl holding a paper bag appeared in front of him, taking a seat on the pink bed. The clock encasing the boy moved closer to the girl. A smile crept up to her face as she eyed her little guest. "Oh, you're awake! Hello there. I'm Lucy."

Dark blue eyes glared back at her. "Get me outta here, he shouts!"

Lucy frowned. "You could at least try to be nice. I'm not a bad person."

The blond and dirty boy seemed to have calmed down just a bit.

"Why am I inside this clock? And why can it talk? Miss, are you my kidnapper, he asks."

The celestial mage gawked. _Who is this judgmental kid? Did he honestly think I look like a kidnapper?_ "I am not! I –"

"Mama said not to talk to strangers. And you're a kidnapper. Why would you trap me here if you're not a kidnapper, he asks?"

"It's because you stink, you ungrateful brat." Lucy scolded. This kid was slowly getting on her nerves.

"…"

 _Great. That shut him up._ "Hmph! Even though I went through all that trouble of buying you new clothes."

The child was slightly surprised. So she didn't seem to be a bad guy…err...girl after all. She had a point though. He reeked because of the mud smudged all over his body.

"…"

He suddenly felt embarrassed.

Lucy sighed in reply. "You're lucky I found you in the forest. You're about to be squeezed by a Gorian. What's a kid doing there all alone, huh? Did you run away from home?"

Silence.

"I can't remember, he says."

"Do you know where your parents are?"

"I don't know, he says."

"Wait, you haven't given me your name yet."

"…"

"Why would I give you my name, he asks."

"Jeez, what's up with you kid? It's not the end of the world if you tell me your name. Or perhaps…" _Is this kid some kind of an heir to an influential family?_

"Okay, maybe I can relate a little. But I'm not really a bad person. See?" Lucy lifted her backhand to let the kid see her light pink guild mark.

The boy's eyes widened.

"I'm from Fairy Tail. A mage guild of this town. Now you believe I'm a good person?"

"…"

"Eh? You don't know Fairy Tail, do you? Are you even from here?"

Unbeknownst to Lucy, the boy very well knew Fairy Tail.

 _I haven't seen her face before. Is she a new member?_

Lucy stared at the kid who seemed to have spaced out. "Uhh, hello there?"

That got him back to reality. "Y-yeah. I know Fairy Tail. I also live here, he says."

"Do you want me help you find your parents?" The celestial mage offered.

"I'm not looking for my parents, he says. But can you help me find my house, he asks."

"Deal. But tell me your name first before I let you go." Lucy smiled.

"…"

"First name's fine by me. I don't want to call you kid all day."

What was he going to say? He was still suspicious of this older girl. He suddenly remembered his grandfather's instructions if this kind of situation arises, which was, _"If a stranger asks you about your real identity, give them another name."_

There was a short pause before he spoke.

"Yuri, he says."

"Alright." The mage stood up from the bed and offered the paper bag with clothes inside to the spirit clock. "It's nice to meet you, Yuri! You can call me Lucy. Hey, our names rhyme." She let out a light laugh.

"…"

"Before we head off, can you take a shower first? You can use my washroom, just don't make too much of a mess. I've bought you new clothes. I hope they'll fit."

"T-Thank you. For the clothes and for saving me, he says."

"No problem."

With that, Horologium walked towards the washroom and locked the door. A poof was heard, followed by the sound of the shower knob squeaking.

Lucy's gaze trained on the door, deep in thought.

 _There's something strange about that kid. He kinda looks familiar. And why was he alone in the forest only wearing a shirt five times larger than his size?_

 _And he also didn't want to give out his name. I understand that part if I were in his shoes. But normally, a 'lost' kid would instantly give his or her full name. Going to the town hall is the most efficient way to find a person after all. That 'Yuri'…I think he's keeping something._

Her brows furrowed at the mystery.

 _What if he's also from a rich family? That's why he's keeping his surname from me. That must be it!_

Her imagination had gone down further.

 _What if I return him to his parents? And since they might be filthy rich, they would give me a reward money for the good deed._ Lucy snickered to herself, imagining the boy being hugged by her posh parents crying a river once they've found their lost son, all thanks to her. Then the imaginary father would give her a reward money. She refuses at first, but the male would insist. She'd take it (out of courtesy?) and it'll be enough rent payment for a few months, or possibly a year! _Hehe~ Jackpot!_

The celestial mage's devious grin wore off though. _But…he said he's not looking for his parents. He probably wants to stay out of them._ She remembered how badly she wanted to run away from his father before.

Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted. The boy finished showering.

A few minutes later, Yuri got out of the washroom clothed in a moss green shirt, black shorts and rubber shoes. Lucy looked at him from her chair somewhat relieved that the clothes fit the boy.

"You done? Okay, let's go." She offered her hand to him. The hand that has the Fairy Tail insignia. Yuri was reluctant at first, before Lucy told him that he might get lost. He finally accepted her hand. They went downstairs and exited the building.

Lucy was closing the lock on the front door when Yuri caught sight of a man being carried by a…a cat (?) as the guy was trying to break into the woman's room through the window. The boy yelped in surprise and tugged the older woman's clothing.

"L-Lucy-san." He pointed his index finger at the pink-haired hooligan. "A guy just went inside your room through the window."

"Ehhhh?!" The woman looked up and growled loudly. "NATSU WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? GET BACK HERE!"

"Oh, Lucy!" The guy was waving now at the girl below. He jumped from the room through the window and landed in front of the two. "I was wondering when you'll come back to the guild. Oh? Who's this?" The pinkette eyed the boy. Yuri stepped behind the celestial mage and hid himself there. The other boy continued to sniff him though.

"Lucy, what took you so long?" The blue cat flew downwards from the second floor and spoke. Yuri's eyes grew like saucers. The cat just spoke! And apparently, it also has wings!

"Ugh, I don't know what to do with you two. How many times do I have to tell you to stop trespassing in my room?!" Lucy complained.

Natsu ignored the girl and stared hard at the kid.

"Don't you just ignore me!"

"Hey Lucy, who is he?" Natsu asked, pointing his finger.

"Yeah, yeah, who is he?" Happy flew in circles on top of Lucy.

"Don't scare the kid. He's not used to your sniffing. Not any normal person does."

Natsu crouched to the boy's eye level, rubbing his chin. "He smells like you now. But why do I feel like I've smelled him before? Hmmm… I don't know how to put it…" Yuri didn't move from his spot though he was a tiny bit uncomfortable with the sniffing.

The blue cat then spoke again. "Hello! I'm Happy. Do you like fish?"

"N-no." The boy replied.

"Aye! More for me!"

The pinkette chuckled and stood up. "Anyways, I'm Natsu. This is Happy, my partner. Lucy's also in my team. We're mages from Fairy Tail. What's your name kid?"

 _He's also from Fairy Tail?_ The boy thought. _But I also haven't met him before._

"…Yuri."

"Yuri? Hmmm…have I heard that name before? Or not?" He just shrugged it off. "Where are you guys going to? Mind if we tag along?"

Lucy sighed. "I knew this is gonna happen. We have to find Yuri's house before the sun sets down. You know where your house is, don't you?" She asked the boy beside her.

"Y-yeah. I think."

"Okay then. We'll just follow you. Make sure you don't get hurt or lost again."

"Thank you." The boy mumbled.

…

* * *

It was already a half-an-hour walk along the streets of Magnolia. Lucy, Natsu and Happy continued to follow Yuri, the boy ahead by several steps. Natsu was telling Lucy about the job he did with Gray earlier and how they accidentally (?) demolished a town hall, a marketplace, six buildings and a section of that town's train station when Happy complained about his paws getting sore from walking. In which Lucy retorted by saying he can just fly, but the blue Exceed was too tired to travel and just rested on top of the celestial mage's head and dozed off. Natsu also felt he was running out of gas.

"Ne Lucy~ where did you find that kid?" The pinkette asked.

"He was at the East Forest, about to get eaten by a Gorian. I know. Strange, right?" Lucy side-whispered.

A pink brow raised to that. "What's so strange about that?"

"Why do you think a kid would like to stroll in a forest filled with monsters?"

"Lisanna, Happy and I do that most of the time when we were kids." Natsu beamed at the memory.

"That's because you three were always up for trouble." Well, Lucy wasn't too sure about Lisanna. Judging from her sweet character, she must have been pulled along Natsu's shenanigans. She continued, "A normal kid wouldn't do that!"

"Nothing's normal in Fairy Tail. Hey, what if Yuri isn't a normal kid?" Natsu mused. "You know, what if he's someone like us too?"

Lucy didn't get it at first, then it registered to her. "You're saying he knows magic? He couldn't even defend himself from the Gorian back then."

"Who knows? It'd be cool if he is. We can recruit him to our guild. Then I'll test him out." The pinkette grinned and pumped his fist.

"You'd pick on a kid?" Lucy deadpanned. Why did it sound normal coming from Natsu?

"That's Natsu for you." Happy interjected as if answering her, then went back to his nap.

"You're hopeless." The celestial mage face-palmed herself. Natsu was about to reply when he noticed the boy not moving anymore.

"Oh. Looks like he found it."

The duo quickened their pace. They were surprised by the boy's reaction though.

The look on his face…he was horrified.

"T-this isn't—"

He was standing in front of his 'house'. His house shared with his parents that was now replaced by a… coffee shop?

"W-what is this place?"

Lucy and Natsu looked at each other confused. They both know that shop. It was an old establishment.

"This is Magnolia, right? W-Why is this—" Yuri looked around once more. He didn't want to admit it, but the whole time he was dragging his feet, the town felt…odd. The town was like…something new to him. Was he long gone from being hospitalized that he couldn't recognize the way to his own house? Or the new buildings?

"H-how long was I gone?" That came out barely a whisper.

Natsu put a hand on the child's shoulder. "Hey, is something the matter?"

"Do you want me to take you to the mayor's hall?" Lucy offered. "Maybe they can help you more in finding your parents."

He shook his head. "I can't."

Lucy and Natsu didn't really understand why he couldn't, but they decided not to question him. "Don't worry. You have us."

"Yeah. We won't leave you until you get home safe and sound."

The boy didn't utter a word.

"Do you know any other relative's place? So we can take you there?" Lucy asked.

Yuri thought about it for a while, then he nodded.

"Hey, no worries. We got you." Natsu reassured him. "Besides, if you still can't find this relative, you can always stay at Fairy Tail for a while."

He looked up at Natsu, feeling lost. Where would he go now? What happened to his house? Where will he wait for _them?_ If the town looked so different from what he knew…

 _Maybe if I go to Fairy Tail, I'll find him there…_

But he was told—

Suddenly his stomach growled loud and clear for the older mages to hear. Hearing Fairy Tail did remind him of some of his favorite food aside from his blood relatives _._ A tinge of pink dusted his cheeks in embarrassment.

"Wow, you sure sounded hungry."

"Oi, Natsu!"

"Here, have some of my fish." Happy, who just woke up from his short slumber, jumped down and pulled out a fish from his backpack.

"Happy, he can't just eat raw fish," said Lucy.

"That's what I'm here for." Natsu grabbed the fish and toasted it with his fire-infused fist. "Here you go." He was about to hand the flaming hot fish to Yuri when Lucy quickly swatted his hand. She yelled at Natsu. "You moron! You could have burned his hand!"

Happy was at tears. "Lucy you wasted my fish! It's now dirty thanks to you!"

"Ugh why did I even bother?" Lucy let out a frustrated sigh, then turned her head to the boy. "Yuri, would you like to eat first?"

"But I don't have any jewels with me." He mumbled, looking down on the floor.

"It's alright. My treat." The celestial mage smiled.

"R-really?"

"Uhuh!"

"Does that mean you'll treat us too?" Natsu and Happy asked, both feeling hopeful.

"Hell no! You're on your own!"

"Aw. Lucy, you're heartless!" They followed her anyway, knowing she couldn't really say no to them.

...

* * *

Inside the restaurant, other customers gawked at the four, or rather two person eating like they've never eaten once for months. Scrap of bones and sauces went flying around them, and Lucy could feel the judgmental stares of the waitresses boring through her head. She just sighed inwardly, already used to Natsu's way of eating in diners. Happy shared a look with her though, when the boy she found in the forest earlier could keep up with the older mage's appetite. With more table manners compared to Natsu, but still, both were at their 23rd plate of food. Happy snickered at her, a paw on his mouth. _That damn cat!_ Lucy cried inside, feeling her money slipping away from her. She didn't expect the brat to be as hungry as the dragon slayer beside him.

"Y-You're really hungry, aren't you?" Her eyebrows twitching, she asked.

Yuri stopped gobbling his food to look at her. And the number of plates he finished. Flustered, he said, "I'm sorry. I'll pay you back, I promise."

"No, no, it's okay." Lucy waved him off. "You don't have to."

"Yeah, unlike you Yuri..." Natsu gulped down a glass of water before he continued, "…Lucy has a job. She can treat us as many times as we want." He grinned widely.

"It's just that…I haven't eaten this good food. Ever since I was hospitalized." The boy muttered.

"I see. That's understandable." The blonde girl curiously inquired. "You got sick before?"

 _A lot. Most of the time._ The boy's expression turned downcast. He nodded. Lucy didn't push that topic.

Breaking the sudden awkwardness, he asked. "Are you both really from Fairy Tail?"

Natsu and Happy were quick to react to his question. "Heck yeah. The best in Fiore!"

"Aye, si—wait, you didn't count me in!" Happy whined.

"Why'd you ask?" questioned Lucy.

The boy let out a small smile, a first for today. "I wanna become a mage of Fairy Tail too someday."

"Ohhhh!" Natsu's eyes lit up like he just found the candy store. "Lucy we gotta recruit him!"

"And here I thought you're just a normal kid." Lucy commented, then asked Natsu. "Wait isn't he too young to join the guild?"

"I'm already seven. I'll be eight next month!" Yuri chimed in, not amused with the girl's remark.

"Yeah. Gray and I were like eight or nine when we joined Fairy Tail. I think Erza, Cana and Mira were one to two years older than us."

"You're more than 400 years old though." Happy said to Natsu, to which he agreed with a laugh. Yuri didn't get it though.

"That aside, aren't we supposed to look for your parents?"

"I-I think it's okay." Yuri's voice didn't sound too sure. "I live on my own sometimes. I always wait for them to come home. I'm not sure if they know I was gone, but they can find me later." _And_ _I know he'll get mad at me, but I don't have another place to go home to other than that,_ was what Yuri wanted to add but didn't. After all, they said they were from the guild. Yuri couldn't recognize them for a reason, which scared him a bit. But what was scarier to the boy was _him_ finding out what happened back in the forest…that he wasn't able to fend for himself.

He seriously wished his parents weren't in Magnolia for the meantime.

 _What's up with this kid?_ Lucy thought to herself. It was rare for her to find someone sounding independent at the age of eight. _He also looked that eager to find his own house earlier, then now he suddenly ditches his idea?_

"So you know how to use magic, right?" Natsu excitingly asked the boy.

He reluctantly nodded.

"What sort of magic do you use?"

Yuri froze. Maybe he shouldn't have mentioned anything. "I can't tell you." He mumbled.

"Eh? Why not?" Natsu incredulously asked, leaning closer to the boy's face. "Is it some forbidden dark magic?"

"No. I don't think it is. But my papa and gramps said I shouldn't tell other people."

"Why would they forbid you to do that?" The two mages' brows raised at him.

Truth be told, Yuri didn't understand their reasons himself. He just repeated what they always told him to the two. "They said it was to protect me."

Natsu and Lucy shared a quick look at one another, confused at the boy's statement. The blond girl spoke, "It's alright. As long as it's not anything dangerous."

The pink-haired male crossed his arms, still curious about the young one's power. "Well, if you wanna join Fairy Tail, sooner or later we'll know what kind of magic you're hiding. You might wanna tap on it to survive in the guild hall." Grinning at the thought, he explained further. "Fairy Tail's the rowdiest, most fun guild to be in. There's always a brawl every day."

"Flying tables and chairs, too." Happy added. "And Gray's underwear."

"Not a single day without any property damage." Lucy sighed. _Inside and outside the hall,_ she might add but didn't to retain Fairy Tail's good image on the kid.

Without their knowledge though, Yuri knew all of it. He smiled to himself.

"What magic do you use, Lucy-san?"

"Lucy's just fine." She corrected him before continuing, "I'm a celestial spirit mage. I summon spirits from the celestial world to fight for me."

"So that clock is a spirit?" He paused. "Like…a ghost?"

The girl shook her head. "Uh, how do I explain this? They're just…spirits. But they aren't just spirits. They're also my friends."

A few blinks.

"Um, okay."

"You don't get it do you?" Lucy said straight-faced. The boy nodded.

"Lucy is a holder-type mage. While me and Happy are caster-type." Natsu explained.

"Cats can use magic too?" Yuri was shocked at this discovery.

"Aye Sir!" Happy then flapped his wings and flew above the kid, landing on his small head. "I use Aera. It's flying magic!"

"He's not exactly a normal cat though." Natsu chimed in.

"What about you, Natsu?"

The pink-haired mage grinned widely, as if expecting that question. He pumped his fist with fire as a demonstration. "I'm a fire dragon slayer!"

Yuri gaped at him. "D-Dragon…Slayer?!" His voice went a pitch higher at his surprise.

"Yeah. I use Dragon Slayer Magic. It's an anti-Dragon Magic."

"B-But how?" The boy couldn't believe his ears. This guy just said he could use Dragon Slayer Magic. He took a quick glance at the mage's exposed upper body. "H-How did you become one?"

"What are you talking about? I was raised by a dragon. He was the one who taught me Dragon Slayer Magic. " Natsu said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Dragons are real?!" He unconsciously slammed his palms on the table. It didn't give a loud clank but it earned a puzzled look from his three companions.

 _And they teach Dragon Slayer Magic? But isn't Dragon Slayer Magic supposed to kill dragons?_

Yuri couldn't believe it. So many questions popped into his head, but he couldn't speak anymore much to his surprise. He only knew one method how to become a dragon slayer after all.

Natsu ruffled the boy's head, used to other people reacting like he's crazy. Although this time, instead of getting furious when others didn't believe him, he let out a strained smile. "Yeah. It's true. Though they… don't exist anymore."

Lucy noticed the sudden shift in Natsu's mood and explained to the boy in a soft tone. "I know it's hard to believe, but it's really the truth. Natsu was raised by the Fire Dragon, Igneel."

"Aye! I also met him once." Happy added.

"Yeah, everyone in Fairy Tail did."

 _Everyone?_

 _So he knows too?_

"I-I see," Yuri didn't notice his throat dried up at his own confusion. He was told before that dragon slayer magic was very rare. It shouldn't even exist now, _he_ said. And now that he met one…

He reached out for a glass of water to soothe his nerves while the others kept talking.

"There's also a Sky Dragon Slayer and an Iron Dragon Slayer in the guild." Natsu pointed out.

"A Lightning Dragon Slayer too!" Happy interjected.

Yuri almost choked on his drink at that statement.

"Oh yeah, can't forget about him!" Natsu laughed.

Yuri stared at them in pure shock, mouth slightly open.

 _Who are they?_

 _What are they saying?_

 _It can't be true._

 _There's no way—_

"Yuri?" Lucy asked, worried. "Is something the matter?"

Breaking out of his stupor, the boy demanded. "I want to meet them." He eyed the older mages. "Can I come with you to Fairy Tail?"

The three looked at each other. Natsu shrugged then grinned. "Sure. If it's alright with 'ya to hang around a bit in the guild, yeah why not?"

"Natsu…do you think it's a good idea?" The celestial mage whispered. _Besides, that kid seems suspicious. The way he reacts…It's definitely not normal!_

"I don't see anything wrong with it." The pinkette dismissed her.

"W-Well…"

"Alright. It's settled then. Off to the guild!" Natsu marched swiftly towards the exit with Happy in tow.

"O-Oi! Who's gonna pay for your food?" Lucy exclaimed, but the fire dragon slayer was too fast. He was already outside the restaurant. And it didn't help that the manager at the counter was staring at her like a hawk. "Natsu! You're gonna pay for this!" The girl asked for the bill and her face paled at the price she had to pay. Yuri watched her, embarrassed that he ate a lot for free. He thanked the girl, still promising he would find a way to pay her.

...

* * *

After Lucy scolding Natsu and Happy outside the restaurant, the four made their way to Fairy Tail. It wasn't a long walk from there. Lucy and Natsu were holding Yuri's hand, each on both sides so the boy wouldn't get lost. Yuri didn't seem to mind. After all, there were many things going on through his head right now. He was having mixed feelings about this. He knew he wasn't allowed to go back, but the thought of seeing the guild after so long was making him eager and excited and slightly nervous. He wondered what it would look like now. And what would be _his_ reaction when he sees him?

 _I hope he isn't mad at me._

The walk was a silent one, until Happy decided to bother Lucy.

"Ne, Lucy~" The blue Exceed rested on the top of her head, whispering, "Don't you think Yuri looks like yours and Natsu's child?"

The celestial mage's cheeks instantly flamed up. "W-W-What are you saying?" She sputtered.

"I'm saying he has blonde hair like yours." Happy teased her more.

"A-And so?"

"Did you and Natsu made lo—"

"Knock it off, tomcat." Lucy cut him off. She flicked the Exceed on the forehead, which made him fall off of her.

Happy flew in front of her, not amused. "Only Carla calls me that." He then hovered and rested on Natsu's head.

"Ne, Natsu~"

"What is it, Happy?" The fire mage glanced at his partner.

"You three look cute holding hands." The Exceed commented. "You look like a real family from behind."

"Happy…" Lucy lowly growled. She heard that one.

"Really?" Natsu raised a brow. "Hmm… Is that a compliment?"

Happy only sighed "You're as dense as ever, Natsu."

Lucy took a quick glance at her teammate. She was hoping a little that he'd react differently. Sigh.

Yuri, who has been quiet for a while, noticed this and asked innocently, "Natsu, do you like Lucy?"

Lucy and Happy's jaws dropped on the floor at the sudden question. They swore bugs could fly in and out of their mouths at their shock.

Natsu looked at him with a disbelieving expression. "Huh? Of course I do."

"W-W-Whaaaat?" Lucy cried out, her heart racing a marathon from his reply. Her cheeks were as red as Erza's hair by now. She glanced at Yuri, who was smiling at her knowingly. Coincidence? She didn't think so. Before she could say something though, the boy cut her off.

"Do you like Natsu?"

Lucy gawked at him. There was a five-second delay before she could manage a reply. "W-Why would I answer that? Don't ask embarrassing things, you brat."

"I just asked a question." He retorted at the celestial mage, again with an innocent look on his face.

"T-This kid. He's giving off Mira vibes." Happy muttered darkly.

"Lucy." Natsu called her. With a serious expression, he asked her, "You don't like me?"

"D-Don't get any wrong ideas, idiot!" She exclaimed.

"Aw, but I said I like you a moment ago. I'm taking it back." The pinkette sulked, turning his head to the side, let go of the boy's hand and crossed his arms, walking ahead a few steps from them.

"J-Just…a moment ago?" Lucy frowned.

Yuri only smiled, gripping Lucy's hand harder to get her attention. He signaled her to crouch down at his level, then whispered to her, "He likes you."

Yeah right. She wasn't gonna fall for that. But her blushing face didn't agree with her.

"It's true." The boy insisted.

Lucy stared at the child dumbfounded. He just dropped that statement as if it were real.

"You don't believe me?"

"A-Aren't you too young…to know these things?"

He blinked at her.

"You just told me earlier that dragons were real. How come you can't believe me?" He reasoned out. Lucy gave him an incredulous look.

"Okay, kid. You're seriously weird." _You creep me out_ was what came to Lucy's mind, but she thought that would be too offensive to the child.

Instead of being annoyed, he beamed at her.

"If I focus enough, I can hear it."

Natsu abruptly halted his steps and looked back at the two, or rather, at the child. He heard him too. His black eyes trained on Yuri, who was now dragging Lucy by the hand towards him and Happy. Did his ears fail him that moment or did Yuri just…reminded him of someone?

He shrugged his thoughts away when the boy took his hand and pulled them towards Fairy Tail, an unusual excitement showing in his eyes. It was as if the boy couldn't wait to go there. He reminded reminded the pinkette of the day when he got back to the guild from his first job as a mage. While his own memory made him giddy inside, he felt strange right now. He looked at his female partner who also wore a perplexed expression.

 _Lucy's onto something. This kid is something else._

Natsu couldn't sense any malice from Yuri though, which was already good in his book. But there's something about the kid. Something…Something he can't figure out, but already did. It didn't make any sense to him right now, but he felt the kid might probably hold some kind of power that could benefit the guild. So he just dismissed his suspicions with a proud grin. "Hehe. We got a new recruit. Gramp's gonna love this."

...

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I noticed a mistake on the second Author's Note in the first chapter. It's supposed to be X793 and not 973. This is why I need to replace my glasses.

Hey how's it going? Anyone curious as to who Yuri might be? He isn't the OC that's for sure.

Next chapter's gonna be a bit longer. Brace yourself for some (very) mild action. If you like this chapter or noticed something amiss, any questions you wanna ask or whatever reaction you may have, don't hesitate to hit me with a review. : )

-AwkwardToffee


	3. Chapter 3: Strangers

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fairy Tail or the characters.

 **Author's Note:** Thanks to those who left a review! You'll find out the answer here. I hope. Enjoy reading!

* * *

Whispers of the Heart

Chapter 3: Strangers

* * *

...

"Alright! We're here!"

When the four of them reached the guild entrance, Yuri's smile faltered. His excitement died in a matter of second.

He looked at Lucy and Natsu, back and forth.

"T-This is it?" He didn't want to sound shaky and disappointed, but his voice probably betrayed him.

"Yeah. This is it." Natsu opened the door, not looking at him. At least he didn't get to glimpse at the frightened look on his face.

He was more surprised for what's in store for him inside.

"This…"

 _This…isn't the Fairy Tail I know._

True. The Fairy Tail building he remembered wasn't the one in front of him. The sign still spoke of the guild, but the overall look and design were all new to him. Just like the streets and the buildings he passed along the way.

The worst of all was he couldn't recognize a single soul.

 _What is this place?_

"Hey guys!" The pinkette shouted while Lucy and Happy only walked inside.

"Hey there, Natsu, Lucy, Happy!" Lisanna waved a greeting at them. "You guys took your sweet time." She winked, then noticed the child trailing behind the newcomers. "Oh? You brought a kid?"

"Ho~? Don't tell me it's yours, Lucy?" Cana's voice was heard from the bar, hugging her barrel of ale, and teased them. "Didn't know you work fast, Natsu."

Natsu only frowned in confusion. Lucy on the other hand immediately reacted, cheeks gradually reddening.

"C-Cana! You're wrong. He just got lost. We were helping him find his parent's house but I guess they moved or something without him knowing."

"Aw, you two are so sweet." Lisanna squealed, which Lucy thought was the former poking fun at her and Natsu.

"We decided to bring him here. He said something about wanting to join Fairy Tail." Happy told them.

"Hm? Is that right?" The brunette woman left the bar and walked towards the kid. "Aren't you a bit too young? Not that I mind." She asked, crouching down.

Yuri hid behind Natsu, unintentionally catching a whiff of alcohol from the woman's breath. His nose wrinkled because of the strong scent.

"Aw, he's a…" Cana hiccupped. "…shy one."

The white-haired girl from earlier then appeared next to him. "What's your name?"

The boy reluctantly answered. "Yuri."

"I'm Lisanna. Nice to meet you, Yuri." She smiled softly at the new kid. Afterwards, she put her hand on the brunette's shoulder. "This drunk woman is Cana."

"Not drunk yet, Lis. I need a refill." Cana retorted, going back to her seat on the bar.

"Coming!" With that, Lisanna went back to her workplace.

"Hey guys! You're back!" Mirajane called out from the edge of the hall. Yuri noticed her clothes were a bit dusty; he could smell it. The smell of old books. She was also white-haired, the same with that Lisanna. The girl walked towards Natsu's group, wearing a worried expression. "Have you seen—", before she finished her sentence, her ocean blue eyes caught Yuri's stare.

"Oh my! What a cute little kid!" Hands on her cheeks, she squealed in delight.

"Um, h-hello."

"Hi to you too." She giggled. _He looks really cute,_ the barmaid thought.

She put her hands on her knees and bended over, smiling sweetly to the boy. "I'm Mirajane. What's your name?"

"…Yuri."

 _Yuri? Have I heard that name before from someone?_ Mirajane thought and asked, "Where did you come from?"

Yuri raised a brow at her, confused at her odd question. _Are these guys really from Fairy Tail?_

Before the boy could speak, Lucy filled in for him. "I found him in the East Forest. He was about to get attacked by a Gorian when I rescued him. Good thing I managed to save him in time."

Mirajane was caught in surprise, her palm pressing on her cheek. "Oh no! That must be scary. What were you doing in the East Forest?"

"I can't remember," answered Yuri. It was true. He tried to think really hard how he ended up in the forest, but nothing came to mind. His last memory was him peacefully resting at the hospital.

"You poor thing," commented the white-haired woman.

"Have you seen gramps, Mira?" asked Natsu.

"He went to Clover Town for the guild meeting," she replied.

Then the worried look slowly etched back on her face.

"Did something happen?" Lucy noticed the small frown on Mira's face. Her usual cheery mood was off too.

"Well, you see…I'm looking for Laxus."

Yuri's eyes widened as he tried to make sense of what he just heard.

 _D-Did I hear that right?_

 _They were looking for…Laxus?_

"Laxus is back?" Natsu instantly reacted. "Alright! That bastard owes me a fight! Where is he?"

Mirajane didn't answer.

"Laxus? What happened to him?" asked Lucy.

"He…suddenly disappeared."

Yuri unclutched his hand from the hem of Lucy's skirt. He took a step back.

 _These people…_

 _Who are these people?_

The boy quickly and quietly withdrew from the small crowd while Mirajane was explaining what transpired in the library earlier, distracting the two other mages with her story.

"I was with him this morning. He was helping me out in the library. Then I fell from the ladder and Laxus managed to catch me in time. But the bookshelf fell on us both."

"Did you got hurt, Mira-san?" asked the celestial mage, surprised.

The barmaid shook her head then smiled sadly. "But Laxus was."

"Laxus got injured from a falling bookshelf?" Natsu exclaimed and soon laughed mockingly. "Man, how did I miss that?!"

Lucy smacked the pinkette on the back of his head before he could attract any attention from the rest. "I can't believe it either, but how did Laxus got hurt from that?"

"He got in between the bookshelf and I."

"Can he just use his magic and destroy the—ow! What was that for?" Natsu complained to Lucy.

"You idiot. If he used his lightning, then the library will be blown to pieces."

"That's what he said too." Mirajane added, "And he also got this wound from his S-class mission."

Not far away from them, the rain woman named Juvia heard it all. She hurriedly ran towards the group and cut off Mirajane's story-telling with her hands clasping the barmaid's, eyes twinkling.

"How…How romantic!" The blue-haired squealed. Her frivolous imagination went wild as she fancied thoughts of Mira and Laxus… all alone in the library, getting too close for comfort. And underneath a bookshelf, their bodies pressing against each other, and…

Juvia's face suddenly glowed red. Her imagination was getting overboard.

"D-Did Mira-san and Laxus-san…k-kiss?" The water mage trailed off, the last word was almost a whisper. Lucy, Natsu and Happy managed to hear her though.

"Ehhh?!" Lucy exclaimed, her eyes so round and cheeks flushed at the thought. "M-Mira-san?"

The barmaid blinked at them, then paused for a second, trying hard to suppress a blush as she remembered how close their faces were at that time. "W-Well, we didn't—"

Natsu butted in before she could explain herself. "You…" He pointed his finger at the white-haired mage. "You're going out with Laxus? You'd find his weakness for me, right Mira?"

"Really, Natsu?" Lucy stared at him, dumbstruck at her teammate's...priority.

Mirajane waved them off, "We weren't—"

"W-Weakness?" Juvia began to weave stories in her mind once more, blush spreading across her face. Before she could say what was on her mind, which was probably now a Gray-related one, Lucy questioned Mira, "So, did something really happened between the two of you?"

"Nothing like that." Mira sighed, inwardly thanking Lucy for letting her clarify the misunderstanding.

"Eh? It isn't true?" Juvia caught up, finally, prodding the Take-over mage to continue her story. "What happened then?"

Mira cleared her throat before she spoke, "When I was still on the ladder, I found this strange book. It doesn't have any title or author at the cover, but it has Laxus' initials on the first page. I fell when I was about to ask him if it was his." The demon mage bit her lip, deciding not to mention the details on Laxus' injury. She continued, "While cleaning up, I found the book again and gave it to him. Then a white light surrounded us. I woke up on the floor and Laxus…he just vanished without a trace. The book was also gone."

"He went missing?" Natsu exclaimed.

"That sounds bad!" Juvia added.

"I've been looking for him ever since. I'm beginning to worry what could have happened."

"I certainly agree." Lucy commented. Turning her head to Natsu, she asked, "Don't you think it's like one of those books?" She was referring to the 'Memory Days' book, the one who brought them back to the Fairy Tail of the past.

The fire dragon slayer didn't look convinced at her speculation though. "Or maybe he just ditched you. You guys know he can transform into lightning—"

Natsu suddenly froze.

"What's wrong?"

The pinkette whipped his head on several directions, then took a deep sniff of the air inside the guild.

"He's here. Laxus is here."

Mira gasped.

"A-Are you sure? I've searched for him here and outside the guild for hours now."

"Positive. His scent is faint though. He's nearby." Natsu couldn't pinpoint where exactly though, frustrating the hell out of him. Like a dog trained to trail someone's scent, he got down on the floor and walked on four legs towards outside. The three mages sweat dropped at the sight, while the other members who noticed him just laughed lightly without knowing why he's doing that.

Juvia then excused herself to check the request board while Lucy and Mira continued to talk about where the lightning mage could possibly be at the moment.

A few more minutes passed when Lucy suddenly remembered. "Huh? Where did Yuri go?"

...

* * *

When Yuri walked away from the group earlier, his palms were pressed hard on his ears. His surroundings, the things he heard, the people, and the guild itself. Everything has changed dramatically. Everything was all new to him. It felt like a different world now.

It scared him.

He didn't know where to go from that point. His special senses got duller the more he stayed inside the building. Given that, he couldn't locate that one _person_ he was looking for in his current state. So he decided to make a mad dash towards the second floor, where he knew _his_ office was, before his sense of balance left him also.

Although it was too late.

"Oi, watch where you're going!" A bystander cried out when Yuri bumped into him.

"S-Sorry." The boy sputtered out weakly, backing away from the man's evil glare. Unfortunately for him, his foot got caught in a stray leg of another random person seating on the edge of his seat, making the boy yelp and stumble backwards and—

"GAAH!" shouted a black-haired half-naked guy in surprise. This earned the attention and sudden gasps of all the guild members, minus Mira and Lucy who were still talking to each other.

Juvia, however, recognized that voice in a second and went to her beloved in an instant. She was shocked at the sight before her. "G-G-Gray-sama's –!" Before she could finish, her nose gushed out blood before passing out on the ground.

"WHO THE HELL PULLED OFF MY PANTS?!" roared the Ice mage. He was buck naked at that point, not at all uncomfortable by his state of undress, but bothered enough that he got stripped out of his clothes out of the blue.

"Was it you?!" Gray grabbed a random person on the collar and threatened him with an icy glare.

"I-I'm not! I swear!"

"It was the little brat!" Someone commented. "I saw him got tripped."

Yuri, who wasn't far away from the ruckus he accidentally caused, tried to hide underneath an empty table. Without much luck though, the back of his shirt got caught by Gray. The older mage lifted him up and menacingly asked, "Was it you, you little punk?"

The boy, as much as he wanted to speak the truth and say sorry, didn't bother to answer. He was feeling really sick at the moment.

He wished he could pass out right now. Or maybe the black-haired man could get a clue and let him go.

"You new here, kid? Huh?"

The naked guy got nothing in reply. Just a hazy expression.

"Oi, say something."

"Let him go, Gray." Yuri side glanced at the new person. White hair, stitched scar over his right eye, very muscular guy. "Picking on a little kid is unmanly!" It was Elfman.

Gray released the kid and continued to argue with him about how he wasn't bullying anyone. That gave Yuri the chance to escape but without a few accidents here and there, mainly bumping on other people and other people's stuff from underneath their tables. Surprisingly, he was fast enough to crawl out of the troubles he caused, as long as he was just crawling and not standing up and running.

It was a matter of time before hell got loose.

"Who the fuck knocked down my dinner?!"

"Did ya just step on my foot, ya bastard?!"

"Was it you, huh? Was it?!"

"The hell woke me up from my nap?!"

People didn't know who to blame for all of these, so they just decided to throw punches at the next person they saw.

Then soon came the flying mugs and chairs. Broken splinters of wood now decorated the hall. People were shouting and punching and kicking each other. It was an all-out brawl. Not all of them participated though. Juvia was down for the count. Cana was just sloshing more ale from the barrel into her mouth. Lucy and Mirajane were expertly avoiding the flying debris while looking for Yuri in all this mess. And speak of the devil…

The boy was now hiding under a table at the middle of the warzone. He could have picked a better location, really, like the farthermost edge of the guild hall. But all of the things he heard before took a heavy toll on his movement. His uneasiness turned into feeling nauseous now.

His hands were still covering his ears. He didn't want to hear any of this madness. It was when his emotions got the best of him that he could only hear white noise, which made his heightened hearing filter all the voices and some other sounds.

He desperately hoped no one would notice him there. Because if someone did, and that someone recognized him at all, he… _he_ would never live it down.

His hopes were easily crushed though.

"What are you doing here, hiding?" It was the barmaid. The barmaid with the longer white hair, Mirajane.

The boy, in his surprise, unconsciously stood up and knocked the top of his head on the wood. "Ow!"

"Oh my, are you okay?" Her hand tried to touch his head but he harshly swatted it away.

"Don't…touch me." Yuri retorted, his voice shaky. He truly didn't want to be rude at that time, but with his head spinning and his hearing still impaired, he couldn't keep his attitude in check.

Mirajane stared at the boy, unsure if the bump on his head was the only reason he snapped out on her. A moment ago, she thought he was just a mild-mannered kid. A cute one, even. But seeing his face now, it looked pale and sick. His dark blue eyes were hazy and unfocused. Little fingers were running through his head, massaging it.

"Are you okay? Do you need some help?" Mirajane crouched down and gave him a worried look.

"N-No." Yuri's heart was racing. The stress was taking its toll on his whole body. Something was coiling inside him and he could tell that it's bad news. "You…can't help me." He breathed heavily.

"Why not? You look like you need to lay down," said the white-haired mage, her motherly instinct kicking in.

If it was any other situation aside from this, Yuri would've listened. But he knew so well what was coming next. His magic was returning, flaring up inside to be precise.

And that only spelled disaster for him and for everything surrounding him.

"Go…away," he breathed out, almost begging her.

"What do you mean?" Mirajane asked, her concern doubling. She stared at the now panting boy, his hands clutching his chest. His eyes were shut tightly in pain.

"Yuri?" When she got no reply, she slowly moved her hand to touch him.

But before she did, he shouted harshly at her. "I said don't touch me!"

Mirajane flinched at the boy's words. Something was definitely wrong with the kid in front of her.

"Go away…from me…while—"

"Mirajane?" Someone cut him off, calling the barmaid's name.

"Who are you talking to, Mira-chan?"

Yuri's eyes widened. Those voices. He knew those voices.

The two newcomers crouched down next to Mirajane in curiosity.

The boy managed to steal a glance at them even with his blurry vision and panicky state. He stiffened at the sight before him.

 _Uncle Macao…and Uncle Wakaba?_

He wasn't wrong, was he?

The voices, their scent, although just a little bit off. It was truly them. Except…

 _Why do they look so old?_

"Huh? A kid?" Wakaba peered closer at Yuri. Yuri only stared back at him. He wanted so badly to ask why his uncle (although not blood-related uncle) couldn't recognize him at that very second.

"Hm?" The older guy gazed thoughtfully, making Yuri more uncomfortable. This guy in front of him wasn't the same man he thought he knew. Even the Macao-looking guy. If they really were the same people, why couldn't they recognize him?

"A new recruit?"

"Yes." Mirajane answered for Yuri. "Lucy found him and brought him here with Natsu and Happy."

"Well, you picked the wrong time to visit, kid." Macao interjected, referring to the brawl happening. "You shouldn't hang around here any longer. Or else—"

Or else the table he was hiding from got lifted by a random guild member and thrown to the other side of the guild. That left the blonde boy with no protection.

"Come, it isn't safe here." The Macao look-alike offered his hand to him. Wakaba stepped beside him and continued. "This old coot's right. There's no tellin' when you'll get hit by a flying—", the smoking mage was cut off when the two of them got hurled by the same table Yuri was hiding under earlier, and crashed onto another group of mages brawling on the other side of the hall.

"My, my." Mirajane sweat dropped, thanking herself she took a step back just in time or else she'll also be joining Macao and Wakaba dead on the floor. The demon mage watched the whole rumble unfold, growing out of hand and decided that the hall wasn't safe any longer for the new kid.

Before she could speak though, someone called out.

"Watch out!"

It was as fast as a second. A wine bottle hit Yuri's head, glass shattering from the impact.

Mirajane gasped and hurriedly crouched down again next to him. "Oh no! It looks bad." Blood oozed from the side of the child's head, dripping down along his jawline and blotching the floor. His face was obviously in pain.

The take-over mage frowned deep as she felt her aura bubbling with anger. The poor boy just got here in Fairy Tail for the first time and _this_ happened? She felt incredibly ashamed for her guild mates' behavior.

The whole bunch didn't stop their shenanigans, oblivious to the storm about to brew inside their hall. Chairs, tables, Gray's underpants, broken mugs and bottles kept being tossed back and forth.

Mirajane wanted so badly to stop the pointless riot already but she knew better to attend to the wounded boy first. She grabbed his body in an attempt to carry him to the infirmary but rapidly jerked her arms back to her. She froze on the spot as she felt her skin got grounded a second ago.

 _W-What was that just now?_

Somehow the feeling was strangely familiar to her.

 _Did I just imagine it?_ _Or—_

"Mira-nee! Above!" Lisanna yelled at her from the bar, finger pointing to the ceiling. Breaking from her thoughts, Mira saw Elfman in his beast arm mode running to her like a mad man and screaming the same thing. Her eyes darted upward and gasped. The chain holding the gigantic chandelier above her and Yuri had gotten snapped by a random object, making the large piece of glass fall downwards to them. It didn't help that some broken tables and other debris was about to hit them too.

The rest of the guild stopped what they were doing. Lucy was about to summon a celestial spirit. Cana was holding her card, magic seal appearing in front of her. Gray was in his Ice-Make stance while Juvia was still down on the floor. The take-over mage nodded to her friends, knowing they would take down the other objects.

Purple tiles immediately surrounded Mira's body, prepping it into demon form to blow the falling chandelier away. She couldn't care less now if she'd make a hole out of the ceiling.

But before anyone could release their attack, a sudden surge of magic power engulfed the whole guild. Everyone was pushed back by force, putting their arms in front of their eyes from the flashing light. A bright yellow magic circle formed on the ground, almost covering the half the guild. In a blink of an eye, bolts of lightning shoot out from the circle, crushing everything suspended midair into bits and pieces. It didn't stop there though as the lightning erratically bounced around, piercing everything it touched. The ceiling, walls, posts, the request board…and even some guild members who didn't manage to take cover in time got electrocuted.

All these wreckage in just half a minute.

Eventually, the light gradually subsided. Everyone slowly moved out of their own make-shift shields.

Juvia, whose head was cradled on Gray's lap, finally woke up and spoke. "Eh? Gray-sama?" She didn't blush or squeal at that moment when the half-naked man didn't bother to reply back. Her eyes followed his and asked, shocked as the others, "W-What just happened?"

"I have no idea." Gray gulped. "But I can tell gramps' not gonna like this."

The guild hall was full of holes. Scorch marks caused by lightning marred the floor and walls. Splinters of wood and glass shards were all over the place. The bar and the separate rooms (infirmary and library) were the only part of the guild unharmed. Perhaps the Master's office too, if it wasn't hit at the last second. The rest of the members silently prayed they could fix all this damage before their Master comes back from his monthly meeting in Clover Town.

"Is everyone alright?" asked Laki, the wood mage.

Most of the people responded but a small minority were sprawled on the floor, slightly charred by the attack.

"Are you okay, Nee-chan, Lisanna?" Elfman asked his sisters, pushing the boulder away that was once part of the wall behind them.

"We're okay," said Mirajane, releasing Lisanna from her protective hug.

"W-What the hell was that?"

Cana strode towards the take-over siblings and stood beside Elfman, answering him. "Lightning magic."

Suddenly Mirajane gasped. _Yuri! "_ Where's—"

"Over there." Cana cut her off, her usual slurry chirpy tone gone. She now wore an expression only reserved for anyone she considers suspicious or an enemy of the guild.

At the center of the wrecked hall was the blonde boy, on his knees, panting. The magic circle was gone by now, but he could still feel the static dancing around his body. He lifted his head up slowly, carefully and saw that the damage has been done. People were also staring at him, shock and wariness plastered on their faces. They took defensive stances as he met their eyes.

The ones he met and bumped into earlier were no different. Lisanna, Elfman, Juvia, Mirajane as well as Lucy wore confused looks, too stunned to move from their spots. It was Gray who barked at him, breaking the silence in the room.

"Who do you think you are, attacking us and destroying the guild hall like that?" His voice was menacing.

Yuri's throat dried up. He couldn't manage to speak properly. "I- I…" _I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt anyone, I swear,_ was what he wanted to say, but his own voice failed to help him out of this situation. He now understood why he had to stay away from the guild for the longest time. Tears began to well up on his eyes, his shoulders shaking from fear. His palm pressed against his already bloodied eye as he looked down in shame.

He caused trouble _again._ He broke his rule _again._ Going to the guild turned out to be a bad idea. He didn't deserve to be in this place. He should've listened to _him._

Electricity started to jump from his skin once more. This time he felt he was now in control. He cautiously stood up, legs wobbling. He braced himself to leave the place through lightning.

However the onlookers mistook it for another attack.

Before the kid could move a muscle, Cana immediately pulled out a card and hurled a quicker lightning strike towards the blonde boy in an attempt to stop him from leaving. Yuri was caught off guard, only managing to raise his hand against the lightning before it consumed his whole body.

"Cana, why did you do that? He's already hurt!" Mirajane protested quickly, aghast that her fellow mage just attacked the boy without letting him explain his side first.

"He attacked us first." The brunette reasoned out, not giving a glance at Mira. "Even if he's just a kid, we can't be too sure."

"I agree with her." Gray chimed in.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia frowned at his love interest, her fists clenched. "Even so—"

"Cana has a point."

"But you should've at least tied him up instead of striking him!" Lucy stepped in and argued.

"Tying him up isn't enough with that display just now." Cana replied. "Relax, it won't kill him. I'll just let him taste his own medicine 'til he gets knocked down. Then we can question him later." She pushed more magic onto the card between her fingers, prolonging the lightning.

"Still, you're going overboard!" Lisanna exclaimed, taking her sister's side. Mira watched the whole scene in horror. The boy wasn't even screaming in pain! _He must have been unconscious by now_ , she grimly thought.

With that, she couldn't take it anymore. She was about to snatch the card away from the brunette when Elfman gripped her shoulder hard, stopping her.

"Let go, Elfman!" Mira glared at her brother. Elfman didn't look at her. His wide eyes only focused on the boy, he told her, "Look at him."

Cana and the rest were stumped. The card mage finally halted her lightning before Mira could, thinking it was already enough to knock down the kid cold on the floor. Or at the very least, paralyze him temporarily.

However Yuri was still standing, his arm raised the same a few seconds ago. Not even a scratch or burn on his skin too, only thin white smoke caused by the strike surrounded him as well as static electricity.

 _W-Why did they attack me?_

He dropped down his arm, looking at everyone with a mixture of shock, confusion and betrayed look on his face.

Cana narrowed her eyes dangerously at the boy. _How did this brat survive that? Tch. This kid's not normal._

"Who are you?! And what are you after?!"

Yuri froze. He didn't know what to say to that. Moreover, he wasn't allowed to drop his name. Especially now when his worst thoughts were confirmed with that question.

Everyone in this hall considered him a complete stranger. And they were the same to him too.

Strangers. All of them.

He broke his father's rule by coming here and now he wasn't about to break another one.

"Answer us! Or else we'll have to take you down for real." Cana barked.

"Cana!" Mirajane put a vice grip on her shoulder. "Stop it! You're scaring him."

"Let me talk to him," suggested Lucy. The white-haired mage nodded.

"Yuri?" Lucy slowly approached him but the boy took a step back. "What's—"

"D-Don't go near me!" He shot back at her, voice raspy. His heart was thumping loudly against his chest. He was so scared right now. He would have never thought he'd be scared inside Fairy Tail of all places! But then again, this wasn't the Fairy Tail he once knew.

He needed to get out of here.

His eyes frantically searched for the nearest hole, planning to escape.

The card mage saw through him and turned towards her black-haired friend. "Gray, keep him distracted. I'll sneak up behind and seal him inside my card."

The ice mage nodded.

Yuri gathered his magic, yellow aura slowly radiating around him. In the middle of it though, he suddenly lost his balance and slumped down the floor.

 _Crap! Not again!_ His dizziness struck him once more as well as the throbbing pain on his wounded temple. He figured absorbing the lightning just now was too much on his already strained body.

Seizing the opportunity to freeze him on that spot, Gray rushed towards the boy. With a giant leap, he put his fist on his palm midair. "Ice-Make—"

"GRAAAAAAY!"

"NATSU?" Lucy exclaimed, surprised as she saw the dragon slayer slipped through one of the holes on the ceiling.

"Wha—UOOGH!" Gray looked up and got cut off as he collided with a falling Natsu. They both slammed down through the wooden floor down to the basement.

Everyone dropped their jaws at that moment. They were all thinking why the hell did Natsu fall from the sky, and how Master's gonna be pissed at them big time. Thanked the heavens that he wasn't here, yet silently wished he could come back to stop this craziness. Almost everyone circled on the edge of the newly-formed hole and peered down to see where Natsu and Gray were.

"Natsu you bastard! Why'd you do that for?" Gray yelled at the fire dragon slayer, now seething. He was lying on his stomach on the stone-cold floor with Natsu on his back. Before the ice mage could grab and beat his rival to a pulp, Happy dove downwards in an alarming speed and quickly lifted his partner out of the basement.

Black eyes scanned the guild hall from midair. On the corner of his eyes, he saw Cana threw her attack cards at Yuri's back.

"Happy!" exclaimed Natsu.

"Aye sir!" The Exceed swiftly flew above the two and dropped the fire dragon slayer in between the boy and the card mage. Fire engulfed his fist as he punched Cana's attack before it reached Yuri.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

The sound of fiery explosion boomed ten times more than the lightning strikes earlier. Yet again, a gigantic hole was formed at the center of the hall. Everyone's hopes of just patching up the guild here and there was gone at this point.

Cana managed to jump back in time, avoiding the same fate as Gray's by a hairline. "Natsu!" She glared at the younger mage and shouted, "Why'd you get in between us, huh? That kid's dangerous!"

The pinkette got up from below and landed on the main floor. He dusted his pants and shrugged. "Doesn't look like to me. More importantly…" He gave a quick glance at everyone then crossed his arms and sulked loudly, "WHY DIDN'T YOU GUYS TELL ME YOU'RE HAVIN' A PARTY WITHOUT ME?"

The rest of the members gawked at him, jaws hitting the floor. Lucy face-palmed herself.

"And besides, Yuri is harmless." He added.

"Harmless?!" Gray interjected. "You weren't here earlier! He made those holes on the walls and the ceiling!"

"Ha?" The pinkette shot him an incredulous look. "But we always do that here."

"It's alright if it's us, you dumbass. He's not a member so he doesn't have the free pass."

Natsu burst out laughing. Happy joined in next to him, snickering.

"What's so damn funny, Flame Brain?"

"'Cause you ain't got a clue, Ice Princess. Yuri's—"

Out of the blue, the guild door crashed onto the two bickering mages and the Exceed, slamming the three across the other end of the hall.

The said door dropped and revealed Natsu, Gray and Happy embedded on the wall before they plopped down to the floor. Dead.

Everyone froze, cold sweat running down their heads. There could only be one person who could do that.

Standing on the entrance was a startled Mest holding the grip on Makarov's wheelchair. A dangerous aura was threatening to explode from the latter's body. His face could only be described by one thing.

Furious.

"You…" The old man's body grew and grew.

"M-Master, take it easy." Mest tried to convince him at the same time cautiously stepping back, "Your wheelchair might…"

Too late. The wheelchair broke.

"YOU SHITTY BRATS! WHAT IN THE GODS NAME HAVE YOU CAUSED THIS TIME? HAVE YOU ALL GONE INSANE? THIS IS ON A DIFFERENT LEVEL, YOU GOOD-FOR-NOTHING SHIT-FOR-BRAINS!"

People blanched at the outburst. Some who weren't used to Makarov's wrath cowered in fear and hid behind the bar. Mest quickly excused himself that he'll get another wheelchair from the hospital just to get away from the seething old geezer.

"M-Master, please get a hold of yourself." Mira carefully treaded towards the titan. Looking all over the place, she knew it'll be difficult to pacify the angry man this time. She nervously laughed. "We don't want you to have a heart attack, do we?"

"YOU'LL ALL BE THE DEATH OF ME, I SWEAR I'M GONNA—WHO STARTED THIS?!" He demanded, voice booming on everyone's ears.

All pointed their fingers at the blond boy. His back was facing the old man's view.

 _Hm? It's not Natsu this time?_ Makarov was astounded. Sensing the boy's about to escape, he swiftly extended his arm and grabbed his whole body in his gigantic hand. His prey squirmed in protest, managing to free both his arms and tried to push himself out. Makarov hardened his grip on his body.

"What? This new runt has wrecked my guild hall single-handedly?!" The titan mage turned to his brats. They all nodded.

Makarov's arm slowly retracted to him and peered at the boy whose fingers were covering his face. "Show your face!" He roared, his patience running thin. He normally welcome new recruits in his guild with a smile. However, knowing that the newcomer was already a troublemaker at his first day…and at this level too?

He decided this kid needed serious spanking later.

"Do I have to pry open your fingers too, hmm?" Makarov threatened, blowing out a hot white steam from his nose. Just to frighten the boy a little so he'd have no other choice but to listen to him. That trick worked with his guild brats before.

Or maybe he shouldn't have done that when he saw the boy's shoulders shaking like a leaf. Shortly he heard the soft sniffles.

His face was stricken in panic as soon as he heard the sniffles.

"Ahh…uhh…"

Makarov darted his eyes down at his members, silently pleading for their help but got none. They were all looking at him disapprovingly. Even Mirajane was frowning at him. He felt judged on the spot.

In a flash, Makarov's anger died down as he tried to coo the whimpering boy trapped in his hand. The blond was wiping off the tears threatening to fall from his eyes when Makarov managed to catch a glimpse of blood on the boy's temple down to his jawline. Concern overriding his panic, his other giant hand gently pulled the kid's arms away from his face.

Nothing could ever surprise him more in his whole life.

He blinked hard. Even bit his cheek to check if he's dreaming. His mouth opened and closed, speechless at his disbelief.

The whole crowd, who were watching the scene from the start, stared at the boy and their Master back and forth. Everyone noticed the sudden change in Makarov's face. His expression couldn't be read. That got them all curious.

"Master? Is there something wrong?"

"…"

"Master?"

The old man didn't pay any mind to them though. His eyes peered closer to the boy who was desperately trying to control his crying.

His soft hiccups were the only sound heard inside the hall.

"G-"

Makarov's breath hitched on his next word.

"Gramps."

...

* * *

 **Author's Note:** So Yuri…is it obvious now who he is at this point? And about the action part, was it confusing? Also, I hope the pacing is just right… or is it not? *gasps!* Well, the chapters are a bit (?) long, but I really can't help it. Do you guys like / have any problems with long chapters?

Anyway, thanks for reading! Oh and kindly check out my other Miraxus story too. It's called _Demon in the Spark._ Chapter 1 is up. (And no, it doesn't suck. Well, it does if you don't ship Miraxus. So yeah.)

-AwkwardToffee


	4. Chapter 4: His Name, Her Name

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail belongs to Mashima Hiro-sensei. I do not own the characters, except for my OC.

 **Author's Note:** Finaaaallly! Enjoy reading!

* * *

Whispers of the Heart

Chapter 4: His name, Her name

* * *

…

"Gramps."

…

It was barely a whisper but Makarov clearly heard it. The old man downed a lump he didn't know he had on his throat. "Y-You—B-but how?"

The child's lips trembled in response. He looked up to meet his gramps' eyes, just as confused and stressed as him. His whimpers grew louder and louder as every second passed.

Meanwhile, the guild members could only watch the strange interaction between the two. Even though everyone hasn't had the slightest clue what was going on, no one bothered to break the moment between the two.

Except for Gray.

"Gramps, you know Yuri?!" The ice mage asked from across the hall, propping himself up from the floor.

"Y-Yuri…you say?" The Master gawked at him. He then turned to the boy, a look of utter disbelief on his face. "It can't be. Is it…is it really you?"

The blond child slowly nodded.

Makarov felt his heart was about to burst from anger. The kind of anger he had almost forgotten for a long time. The kind only reserved whenever _he_ was involved.

"WHO? WHO DID THIS TO YOU?!" He bellowed, inexplicable rage almost spilling out from his body.

Everyone flinched at their Master's voice. They never heard their Master speak like that before. It was different when he was scolding them all earlier. It was a lot different whenever someone manages to destroy a city.

The boy in question only shook his head, his cries muffled. "I-I don't know." He stated, his voice weakening, "I was only…" The last drop of his energy left him before he could answer. The light in his eyes faded followed by his body lolling forward.

Makarov's eyes widened in horror before quickly returning back to his normal size. He gently laid down Yuri's head on his lap. Now that he'd gotten a closer look, he noticed the fresh wound on the little boy's temple was still seeping out a small trickle of blood. Makarov angrily cursed himself for almost crushing the child earlier. The pressure must have taken toll on his small body. Moreover, the boy's face was slowly becoming paler and paler by the second.

His heart raced as panic began to well up inside him.

"Someone get Porlyusica here!" Makarov urgently barked at his brats. "Hurry!"

"I'm on it!" Lisanna transformed her arms into large wings.

"Tell her I have Yuri, no questions asked! Carry her here if you must! As fast as you can!"

The youngest take-over mage nodded and flew towards the East Forest.

The rest of the members circled around their Master in worry. Mira bent down next to him and spoke, "We should get him to the infirmary."

The Master shook his head instead, his hand firmly rested on the boy's chest, feeling his weakening heartbeat. There was a line of sweat above his bushy eyebrows, showing the seriousness of the situation. "No. He'll stay here. Not until Porlyusica arrives."

"A-Alright. I should get some water and bandages." Mira was about to get up but was stopped.

"I'll do it." Cana told her, feeling quite guilty about attacking Yuri earlier. She hastily jumped to the second floor before Mira could reply back.

The take-over mage sat down next to her Master. Her eyes drifted over to him and Yuri. She could see an unusual sadness reflected on the old man's grey eyes. The sight was painfully tugging her heart. She couldn't explain it herself but for some reason, it was as if she saw it before.

"How could this have happened?" Makarov whispered as he brushed some of the boy's sweaty, golden locks out of his wound. "Of all times…"

Cana came back with the bandages, antiseptic and a basin filled with water. Mira took them and carefully tended Yuri's wound. Elfman, Juvia, Gray and Lucy also went closer. Lucy was about to ask how the Master and the kid she found at the forest were related to each other when a yell was heard at the guild's entrance.

"Where's the brat?!" Porlyusica hurriedly entered, Lisanna in tow. The old woman clucked her tongue as her eyes did a quick scan of the ruined hall.

"Over here." Makarov called out to her.

The pink-haired healer crouched down to where her old friend was and noticed the boy's shallow breathing. Eyes narrowing, she pressed her hand against Yuri's chest and gasped.

"Makarov…" She gave an accusatory look at the old man. "Tell me this isn't—"

"…It is."

"Tch." Porlyusica scowled. She wasn't convinced at first when a half-human half-bird barraged into her hut earlier, asking for her immediate help to cure a boy named 'Yuri'. After all, it's been years since she last heard that name.

But now, seeing this boy again in this state…

She exhaled deeply. Regaining her calm, her hand swiftly hovered above the boy's body. Makarov waited for her assessment as patiently as he could. The healer turned towards him with a serious expression, confirming his thoughts. He saw her raising a hand, thinking she's about to start the treatment when she instead swiftly smacked the back of his head.

There was a collective round of gasps from people gathered around them.

"Ow—what the hell was that for?!" Makarov yelled, the veins on his forehead popping angrily.

"Wipe off that dumb look on your face." She scolded her former teammate and sighed. "The child's not going anywhere now that I'm here."

Makarov only stared at her for a few seconds before letting out a sigh of relief.

Porlyusica stood up and commanded, "Transfer him to the infirmary. I'll treat him there, not here with filthy humans flocking around."

Elfman volunteered, carefully scooping up the unconscious child from the Master's hold. He and the healer marched upstairs to the infirmary. Once they entered the room, the large man put down the child on the cot gently. He waited for Porlyusica's next order.

"You may leave. Tell those fools downstairs not to bother me for the next few hours." She told him brashly, her gaze never leaving her patient. Afterwards, she took out a small, ragged lacrima from her coat pocket and crushed it in her palm, activating the magic locked inside it. Green light began to glow brightly around the healer's arms. Given this power, Porlyusica pressed both her hands on the boy's chest and a second later, the green light also started to envelop Yuri's body.

Elfman took that as his cue to leave, but as he was about to exit the room, he heard the old lady mutter, "What have you gotten yourself this time, foolish brat?"

…

* * *

…

Makarov was getting antsy. It's been an hour since Porlyusica entered the infirmary. His eyes wandered upstairs, noting the green light flashing from the edges of the door getting brighter by the minute. The guild members were also quite baffled and worried, not used to seeing that kind of magic from their resident healer.

Everyone was now itching to ask the Master about the situation, but they feared the titan mage would snap at them for asking.

It was this moment when Natsu abruptly woke up.

"GUWAAHH!" The fire dragon slayer shot up from the stage, his fist already infused with fire. "WHOSE BASTARD DID THAT—", he stopped himself short as he saw Master glance at him. "Gramps you're back!" He gave a toothy grin to the old man, his initial outburst long forgotten. Makarov only stared back, clearly not in the mood to bicker around. Natsu quirked his brow at that. Looking around, he noticed everyone's concerned expressions.

Happy had also woken up, flapping his wings to rid of the dust and blinked. "What happened?"

"Yeah, why're you all lookin' sour?"

Lucy answered him. "Yuri…He collapsed. He's now being taken care of by Porlyusica-san upstairs."

Natsu and Happy were shocked at what they heard. Then they shared a look.

"That's right, gramps. I need to ask you something. It's about—". Before the pinkette got to say it, Cana cut him off. "Master, do you know that kid?"

"Yeah, gramps. Do you know Yuri?" Gray followed.

"Are you related to him somehow?" Inquired Juvia.

Natsu frowned at the sudden interruption. "Oi—"

"Now, now, don't overwhelm the Master with questions." Mirajane chimed in. _But I'm also curious,_ she thought to herself. While she knew that the old man has a soft spot for children, she never saw him looked this worried and distraught for a kid he just met today.

 _There must be a connection between those two…but what?_

Her musings got derailed when she heard Lucy gasp. "C-Could it be…?"

"What?"

The celestial mage hesitated for a bit. "He…W-Well, he does kinda look like Laxus."

Everyone yelped in shock at the thought.

Putting two and two together, it wasn't hard to guess what kind of conclusion the people have come up with. Makarov exhaled deeply. "Before any of you brats get the wrong idea, no, he's—", the old man also got interrupted, his voice fading in the background as the crowd started speculating to themselves.

"Laxus has a child?"

"No way! Are you saying he kept it secret all these years?"

"Possibly. That kid looks like he's six."

"W-Well, he does have a reputation."

"What? Really? Those rumors were true?"

"Man, I can't believe he finally knocked up someone."

"That explains the lightning earlier!"

"I wonder who the mom is…"

"Do you think she's a babe?"

"I wish she could come here someday."

"Leaving your kid alone is unmanly!"

"Does the Raijinshuu know?"

"The Master probably knows, so maybe they know about it too."

"Where's Laxus anyway?"

…

* * *

Not very far from the crowd stood Lisanna. She didn't bother to join the gossiping going on around the guild and instead looked over to her sister curiously to see how she's taking this all in.

For quite some time now, the youngest Strauss suspected that there's something going on between her sister and the lightning dragon slayer. At first, she couldn't quite put a finger on it, and even quickly waved it off as a rumor, knowing that they really didn't mesh well with each other in the past, Mira being the bratty bully while Laxus the biggest jerk back then. Of course, they now both changed their ways for the better, however it didn't struck Lisanna that those two would eventually grow closer…to the point where she couldn't pass it off as a fluke.

It was only when Cana and Evergreen managed to convince her to take a double look at them that she saw some…strange signs.

Like how whenever one isn't around, they always immediately search for the other. And if by any chance they were at the hall at the same time, the two would 'naturally' draw themselves to each other despite the normal chaos running around the guild. There were even times that the lightning mage himself would volunteer to help with some of her sister's errands.

That certainly got Lisanna's attention.

There were also those moments whenever Laxus leaves for an S-class job, her sister's cheerfulness would drop a fraction. And no one would notice except Lisanna and the guy himself, to which he'd either lightly tease the demon mage that she'd get the same frown lines his gramps has before she'd turn 30 for worrying. That, or he would instead jokingly ask her to come with him on that quest.

Mira had always refuse him politely though whenever the question pops, to which Laxus would only shrug and raise his hand in goodbye. Then the next time he came around the hall and took off for another job, he'd ask her again, and the barmaid would say no yet wish him to be safe…after they both stop staring at each other…like they were passing a secret message to themselves. That became their sort-of-farewell routine for months now.

Lisanna sighed. It was cute at first, factoring in that Laxus, in secret, was in fact a social dork. The Raijinshuu confirmed it, and even told her stories how awkward he was trying to fit in as a host in Blue Pegasus when Fairy Tail disbanded. So it made sense to her that perhaps the man was having a hard time expressing himself.

But couldn't her own sister, the so-called 'guild's matchmaker', tell that he 'might' be asking her out?

Or maybe she was looking too deep into it?

 _Not that it matters…_ She sadly thought. Hearing those rumors about Laxus having a secret child all these years, her motivation to partner him up with her sister dropped down. Not that she had anything against Laxus, or Yuri most especially, but…

The youngest Strauss shook her head. How could she, a mere spectator, judge the situation when the most important thing to be considered would be their feelings for each other?

That was why she was eyeing her sister's tense form from behind. _If there's anything to confirm that Mira-nee has something for Laxus, that would be her reaction to this, right?_

Lisanna walked towards her. "Mira-nee?" Putting a hand on her shoulder, she softly called out to her. The elder take-over mage got startled from her touch. Lisanna slightly narrowed her eyes. _She's oddly jumpy. Does that mean the rumors have gotten to her?_

"Are you alright?" _You look a little pale,_ Lisanna observed. She gave her a sad smile.

"…"

"…Mira-nee?"

Mira didn't respond. She remained silent for a while, looking down at the floor, brows knitted in deep thinking.

"Yuri…" She mumbled to herself. "…Dreyar?"

"Did you say something?" asked Lisanna, inching closer to her.

"Yuri Dreyar." The older Strauss repeated louder that time, her eyes widening at the name. "I've heard that name before."

Lisanna raised her brow in confusion, clueless to what she just mentioned. Before she could ask her further though, the two heard their Master's loud commanding voice.

"ENOUGH OF THIS!"

Everyone stiffened and stopped talking, turning their attention towards the old man, well except for Natsu and Gray.

"What was that, Flame Brain?" Gray glowered at his friend. Natsu haughtily shot back. "I said you're so stupid, Gray. Anyone could tell Yuri is Laxus' long lost brother!"

As soon as he heard that, Makarov resisted banging their heads against each other. Instead, he only let out a deep frustrated sigh before he yelled at the two. "Idiot! That child isn't Laxus' brother!"

The crowd listened intently, all ears on their Master. Makarov continued. "He's—"

"No way! I was wrong?!" Natsu shot the old man a disbelieving look. "But his scent is almost the same as Laxus'!"

"Ha! I knew I was spot on. He's Laxus' kid all right." Gray gloated at Natsu.

"Oh yeah? Wanna go at it then, underwear-shogun? Whoever loses gets to admit he's wrong!"

"Bring it, ash-for-breath!"

"Guys, stop it!" Lucy tried to get in between them but the two were already at it. "Where's Erza when she's needed here?" She whined.

Makarov didn't stop himself at that point from pumping his fists on top of the two mages' heads. "Would you two idiots settle down and just listen?!"

Both of them squeaked, "S-Sorry."

"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted…" He then cleared his throat and continued, "…that child isn't anyone's brother or son."

Everyone was unconsciously holding their breath for the big revelation.

Makarov closed his eyes, arms folded and spoke. "He's my grandson."

"…"

"Huh?!"

The whole guild was confused.

"That doesn't make any sense!" Natsu complained. "If Yuri's your grandson gramps, then that makes him Laxus' brother, right?"

"He _is_ my grandson." Makarov repeated.

"You…have _another_ grandson?" Gray questioned, not getting what the old man meant. "W-Wait, does that mean…" There was a dramatic pause. "IVAN HAS A BROTHER?!"

People began to whisper to themselves again.

Makarov groaned loudly at the thought. "Laxus is my _only_ grandson!" _God these dolts!_

While everyone couldn't get what their Master was saying, Mira stood frozen in complete shock. The statement Makarov just mentioned…it was the only thing she needed to confirm her growing suspicions.

The lightning, the Master's reaction when he saw him, the reason for the fake name…

His sudden disappearance…

"Master!" She called out. "Does that mean he's…?"

The old man nodded. _Finally, someone got it._

"That's right. That child is Laxus."

"…"

"EHHHHHHH?!"

…

* * *

As soon as Mira heard it from the Master, her stomach instantly dropped.

 _Yuri…is Laxus?_

Even though she was the first one to put the pieces together, it didn't stop her from rejecting the idea. After all, having a 25-year-old man transform back into a child wasn't exactly normal, even by Fairy Tail's standards. More so if that particular person is an S-class mage who's very much widely known in all of Fiore…

Looking around, her guildmates were equally stunned as her, sharing disbelieving looks at each other. Then from the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of the green glow coming from the infirmary.

 _That boy inside that room…_

Mira paled, her blood draining from her face. She quickly stared down at her feet, trying not to alert her friends of the queasiness she felt. Her throat was drying up, she could tell.

It was her fault.

She was the last person with him…at the library…before he…

Just then, it suddenly dawned on her.

 _That book..._ Her eyes widened as she realized...

 _That book did this to him!_

Mira clenched her fist, angry at herself. _Why did I chose this day to be extra-nosy and fiddle with a cursed book_ , she barked inwardly, keeping her frustration to herself. Even if the book was enchanted, it was still her own doing that got Laxus involved in this.

She needed to go find it again. Spinning her heel towards the library, she left the crowd in a hurry, ignoring everyone's reactions on what just happened and Lisanna worriedly calling out to her. That book which went missing for a few hours now was her only lead, and she wouldn't forgive herself if she didn't manage to find it for him.

…

* * *

While Mira was on a book hunt down at the library, the rest were just stumped. Having heard that Laxus was turned into a kid was pretty difficult to accept. Not without a good explanation. Everyone clustered closer to Makarov, expressing their disbelief.

"No way!"

"T-That's impossible!"

"Isn't Laxus err…25 or something?"

"32 if you counted the seven-year gap."

Makarov could feel everyone's incredulity; it was like a rehash of his inner reaction just an hour ago. In all honesty, he was still as skeptic as them, if not more by a long shot.

"Y-You're not really kidding us, gramps, are you?" asked Natsu.

"Why would I kid around in this serious matter?" The old man retorted.

Macao and Wakaba gasped. "N-Now that I think about it, that kid really is Laxus." Macao said while Wakaba smacked his forehead, "Damn, how could I forget?"

"But how could that happen?" asked Happy.

"Yuri-san doesn't resemble the present Laxus-san," commented Juvia, slightly unconvinced that the lightning mage had a docile, innocent look such as Yuri's when he was young.

"His eye color is also different." Elfman observed while everyone nodded in agreement. Laxus as an adult has a golden-orange hue in his eyes, whereas the child…Yuri's eyes were dark-blue with some greyish undertones.

"Yeah, and the lightning scar is missing too." Natsu added but Gray countered him. "You dimwit, he must've gotten it when he got older."

The fire dragon slayer briefly snarled at the insult before exclaiming, "Hold on a minute! Why didn't he say he's Laxus in the first place?"

Everyone turned their heads at each other, confused. Good question…

"Maybe he couldn't say his true name because he doesn't want others to find out that he's the Master's grandson." Lucy suggested. _And to think I thought he was a rich heir._ She sighed inwardly.

Makarov nodded. "Fairy Tail had its fair share of enemies during Laxus' childhood." _Most of them caused by Ivan and his sadistic tendencies,_ he thought grimly to himself.

"Wait a sec…" Lucy trailed off as she began to realize. "It all makes sense now!"

"What is it?"

"Laxus…He already has the dragon slaying lacrima inside of him!" She then turned to Makarov. "Is that right, Master?"

The old man sighed. "That is correct."

"Remember what he told us earlier?" Lucy asked Natsu and Happy. The two wore questioning looks, not quite getting what the celestial mage wanted them to recall.

"At the diner?" Lucy supplied for them. "Why he couldn't tell his magic? And the persons who told him not to tell were the Master and…" She hesitated, "and…you know…"

"Ivan." Makarov said.

"That bastard of a dad." Natsu chimed in nonchalantly.

Makarov nodded, silently agreeing to what the fire mage said. "It was to protect Laxus."

"Ohhh! He said the same thing to us back then!" The pinkette remembered, finally. "But why would you tell him that gramps?" Natsu argued, "I'm also a dragon slayer, but you've never warned me before that I shouldn't fess up that I'm one?"

Lucy shook her head. "You don't follow, do you? That's because Laxus has a lacrima while you don't."

Natsu still didn't get it. "…So?"

"It means the kid is a walking target." The blonde girl explained further. "That's why he had to fake his name. He couldn't give out his real identity to strangers because it would risk him getting kidnapped. Or worse…" Lucy paused, her voice lowering, "Since the dragon slaying lacrima is a very rare find, someone could extract it from his body."

Makarov's face hardened. Everything that Lucy laid out to the table just now were all true. However, it was that last statement that struck him so bad, he feared his own magic might betray on him and seep out at dangerous amounts.

He wouldn't dare go back to that dreadful time.

Never again.

He tried to control his brewing anger inside of him by distracting himself as he listened to his guild brats.

"So that's why when I attacked him earlier, he didn't get hurt. He's immune to lightning." Cana said before chugging a mugful of ale and grinned. "If that kid's already that tough, that explains why the guy grew up to be a monster."

"That Yuri is a man." Elfman stated while Lisanna only sweat dropped at her brother.

"Yuri-san might have absorbed it too." Juvia quipped then corrected herself. "I mean, Laxus-san…" She sighed. "This is confusing Juvia…"

"Where'd he got the name Yuri anyways?" asked Gray.

"Hm…I remember telling Laxus when he was little to never talk to strangers. And if he needs to put out a name, he'll have to use my father's name." Makarov answered.

"Your father's name?" Gray repeated as he remembered that the old man's father was one of the guild's founders. Juvia had the same look as well. _Yuri Dreyar._ Otherwise known to the two as the guy who still owes more than 5 million jewels to Precht, or Hades, up to this day. They both sweat dropped.

"That's also how I confirmed it was him." Makarov continued. "The only ones with that knowledge were I, his parents, Porlyusica and of course Laxus."

There was a brief silence after that.

"Well, I still don't get who turned Laxus into that..." Natsu growled, his fangs showing, "But whoever did this to him will pay!"

Everyone agreed as they shared the same sentiment. But unlike the previous attacks on the guild, they didn't know exactly who to target their confusion and anger.

"It's my fault."

That is until someone spoke from behind.

"Nee-chan? Mira-nee?" Lisanna and Elfman both called their sister out at the same time, looking more confused that the rest.

By now, the whole crowd turned their full attention to the white-haired barmaid, who was safely clutching an old-looking book against her chest.

"Mirajane? What is the meaning of this?" Makarov asked, shock painting his face. Of course, how could he have forgotten? Mira was the last person with Laxus. If there's anyone that could possibly know what happened, it was her!

The said barmaid strode towards the old man as she replied, "We were cleaning the library like you told us to do, then I somehow stumbled upon this book." She handed it to him. Makarov brushed the maroon hardcover with his hand while everyone peered closer at it.

"That book has his initials." Mira added, hoping that Makarov could identify the mystery behind the book.

"His initials?" The old man repeated, staring at Mira then back to the book. He slowly opened it, turning to the first page and gasped. True to her words, it did have the lightning mage's initials.

 _L. Dreyar._

"T-This is…" Makarov couldn't believe it. _So it was here all this time?_ His brows deeply furrowed as he gently swiped his fingers at the part where the name was printed. He could definitely feel it. There was magic coursing in this book.

A familiar one at that.

Makarov narrowed his eyes.

"This certainly belongs to Laxus. I believe this book was his journal when he was young."

Everyone was stunned. The Laxus they all knew didn't look like one who keeps a journal by his side. This was surely something new.

"What?!" Natsu reacted fast, leaning closer to the old man, his eyes set on the book he was holding. "Laxus? That Laxus owned a journal? Oh man, what kind of secrets did he wrote down there? You'd let me take a peek, right gramps?" His fingers wriggled as he moved to get the book but his hands were quickly swatted by Makarov.

"This is a serious matter, Natsu." Clearing his throat, he continued explaining. "As I've said, this belongs to Laxus. But he was not the original owner of this book."

Makarov paused.

"She was probably…no. I am certain she's the one behind all of this."

"She?"

"…"

"Laxus' mother."

"Lauryn."

…

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Whew. After a month-long hiatus, I've finally updated! This time, a new character, Lauryn, enters the picture. What kind of mother was she? What were her intentions in this story? And what was that book all about?

Anyway, here's to hoping I can finish the next chapter by next week so I can start with my other fic, Demon in the Spark. Thanks for the continuous support, especially those who reviewed, followed and put this story on their fave list! And as usual, please (kindly) review.

 **Some references** (you may skip this if you want) **: *** In the manga, Laxus' eyes are orange. In the anime, it's grey, but I made it dark-blue because of genetic headcanon and…I'm really not sure about this but I'd like to believe it's more dark-blue than grey in some moments in the anime (like Fantasia). I put the difference for distinction purposes. In this fic, the golden-orange eyes was an after-effect of using too much dragon slaying magic as Laxus got older.  
*Juvia and Gray knew Yuri Dreyar from the OVA "Natsu vs. Mavis".

Thanks for reading!

-AwkwardToffee


	5. Chapter 5: The book she left behind

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail belongs to Mashima Hiro-sensei. I do not own the characters, except for my OC.

 **Author's Note:** For some of you who might get confused, narration is written like this. _Thoughts are italicized_ and _"italicized dialogues are dialogues from the past"_.

* * *

Whispers of the Heart

Chapter 5: The book she left behind

* * *

 _…_

"Lauryn."

It has been too long since he uttered that name.

The old man observed the dumbfounded look on his brats. Of course, he expected this. Judging from the majority's confused faces, no one in this generation had ever heard of her existence until now. The only ones different were Macao and Wakaba, who were sending cryptic glances at each other.

"So we have to beat up Laxus' mom so he can turn back to normal?" Natsu growled, his voice dropping dangerously. The veins in his fists were protruding as he clenched them hard. Soon flames spewed from his arms as well as his mouth. "I'M ALL FIRED UP! WHERE IS SHE?! IS SHE IN RAVEN TAIL?!" He yelled angrily, his onyx eyes hungry to avenge his friend. He went on to storm out of the hall ready for an all-out-fight, refusing to listen to his guildmates' protests. At that, they had no other choice but to pin him to the ground, but in response, the pinkette's anger only grew in irritation, breaking a couple of tables and chairs strewn around them. Luckily for everyone, Lucy managed to calm him down.

"Where do you think you're going?! Raven Tail had already disbanded!" The celestial mage scolded her teammate as she dragged him by the scarf. She was relieved that Flare unexpectedly appeared at the guild's bathhouse before, bearing the news of her own guild disbanding after they cheated at the Grand Magic Games two years ago.

Natsu stopped jerking away from her hold for a moment, about to argue that he'd find another way to hunt down this 'Lauryn' person. Maybe by sniffing out information from dark guilds. Or Ivan.

 _That bastard would know, right?_

"You won't find her anywhere," said Makarov somberly, prompting the fire dragon slayer to ask. "What do ya mean by that, gramps?!"

"…"

Their Master didn't reply as fast as Natsu and the others liked. Instead, he just averted their questioning looks. That's when it dawned to everyone, Macao and Wakaba aside, that this person might be...

"Lauryn…She is already gone. Many years ago in fact." Makarov breathed out. In all of his time spent in this world, her daughter-in-law's passing was one of the painful memories he deeply mourned for. His old heart still throbbed achingly whenever it was brought up.

"She's…dead?" asked Natsu slowly, making sure he heard it right. The strained look Makarov sent to his direction made him flinch.

"…Even if she's still alive, she would rather dig her own grave than join Ivan, or any dark guild for that matter."

With that, everyone went still as a rock, unsure of what to react. All of them fell into a complete silence, particularly Natsu, turning his head away in shame for quickly assuming Laxus' mother might had been just as evil as Ivan. Makarov couldn't blame him though. They never got to know the woman, and what happened back then was left unspoken for a reason.

The titan mage heaved a sigh and casted a glance on Natsu. "No need to be glum. It's all in the past and we couldn't change that." He diverted the topic by turning to Mira. "By any chance, did Laxus manage to touch this book?"

The demon mage nodded slightly. "He did. A bright white light flashed from it right after he opened it. The next thing I recall, I woke up on the floor and Laxus disappeared."

"I see. That most likely activated the enchantment." Makarov quickly skimmed through the book, noting the difference in Lauryn's handwriting compared to Laxus'. He saw the lacrima sketches and what seemed to be illustrations of mechanical parts. _Hmm, so this must have been one of Lauryn's drafts,_ he mused. _Why did Laxus have this kind of book?_

Nearing the last pages, his eyes then landed on those little square blocks which were inked pitch-black. Just by looking at it, he could tell that something was off with those marks. He was certain little Laxus didn't do anything else aside from scribbling on the pages. Was it Lauryn perhaps? Or did someone else tampered on this book?

 _What were those marks hiding?_

"…"

"I don't get it gramps." Gray said, earning the old man's attention. "If the caster is gone as you said, how do we turn Laxus back to normal?"

Makarov had no answer to that. He tried to think for a possible solution but his mind couldn't come up with a single one. _That's due to the fact that it was Lauryn who's behind this spell. Knowing her level of skill, this is going to be more difficult than I thought._

"I'm afraid to say _this_ is beyond my knowledge." Makarov admitted. Worry etched its way on everyone's guts as they stared down at the floor feeling helpless about the situation. How were they going to free Laxus out of this bizarre spell? What were they supposed to do now?

"However…" The old man added, looking up to meet his guild members' hopeful eyes. "The answers might be written here." He tapped the cover with his fingers. "For us to know the nature of the enchantment, we need a translation of this book."

"…A translation?"

"Why would we need a translation, Master? I thought you said that book was Laxus'?" asked Lisanna, confused as the others. "Unless…" her voice trailed off, "…he knows another language?"

"Oh. He does."

Everyone got surprised at this revelation, especially Mira. After all the time they spent together in the library, Laxus knew how to read that book? _Well of course, he owns it_ , she argued back to herself. _But why is that book written in eastern language in the first place?_

As if hearing her thoughts, Macao explained, "That's because Lauryn came from an eastern country before settling here in Magnolia. I vaguely remember them talking to each other in the eastern language."

"E-Eastern language?!" Lucy exclaimed, quite astounded. Since the peace treaty of the Second Trade War was signed a century ago, Fiore and its neighboring countries use western language as the standard language. It was a way of promoting trust between the allegiances. Right now, the only country practicing the orient script was the Pergrande Kingdom, the farthest eastern country in Ishgar.

"I can't believe it…" The celestial mage said in awe. "It's difficult to find a person who knew how to read and speak in eastern language. Mama used to hire scholars from outside the country so she could read her rare collection of eastern books!"

"Hold on just a sec, are you saying that Laxus' mom ain't from this town? How did she ended up here in the first place?" Natsu asked, curious about the mystery woman's origin.

"That's another story to tell for another time." Makarov however knew that the dragon slayer wouldn't stop bugging him. Might as well indulge his curiosity. "Lauryn left her hometown and traveled all the way here so she could join the guild."

"Woah, Fairy Tail was already famous back then…" Happy commented, slightly amazed.

"Wait, so this 'Lauryn' we're talkin' about was also a Fairy Tail wizard?" Natsu was shocked. "How come we never heard of her before?"

Makarov went rigid. Everyone noticed how the fast the titan mage's gears shifted at the sudden question. His expression became unreadable at the moment.

"Lauryn nee-chan was a member of Fairy Tail before ole' me and Macao arrived here." Wakaba informed them in Makarov's stead. After briefly exhaling from his tobacco pipe, he continued, "She passed away before any of you could meet her."

"That's right." Macao immediately said, giving a quick sideway glance to his long-time friend before resuming his attention at the younger mages. "It wouldn't really matter now if you're aware of her or not. I think what's more important is how to get Laxus out of this situation, isn't it?"

The whole guild silently agreed to that while Natsu only crossed his arms and decided not to ask too much for now.

The problem still remained though. How do they decipher what was written in that book?

"Um…" Juvia raised her hand, gathering the attention on her. "Juvia suggests we ask Levy-san for help."

Everyone's eyes suddenly lit up at the idea. If there's anyone who could be a big help, it was Levy with her vast knowledge in all kinds of languages. Moreover, they've seen how she helped the guild before with this kind of trouble. She might be the only one who could translate the cursed book. How come they hadn't thought of her from the get-go?

"Great thinking, Juvia!" Gray exclaimed, patting the water mage's shoulder in praise. Juvia squeaked, all her seriousness gone the moment she felt his cold touch. She blushed furiously, mumbling incoherent words. Gray and the others sweat dropped how her demeanor changed in an instant.

"But Levy is in a mission with Gajeel and Team Shadowgear, right?" asked Cana. "If this is a race against time, we need to get moving and drag them back here."

"I hope that isn't the case," expressed Makarov. "I believe they're currently on an escort mission, am I correct, Mirajane?"

Mira nodded. "They were requested to escort a guest of the Royal Family. Apparently this person has ties with the Magic Council and had personally asked for Levy and Gajeel. Jet and Droy came along with them." She paused, leaving the crowd to retrieve the record book lying inside the bar's cabinet drawer. The white-haired woman continued, "The job is supposed to end in a week."

"Hmm…" Makarov hummed in thought. "I suppose the client will understand that three is enough to guard him for the remaining couple of days."

"How should we contact them, Master?" Mira questioned. "I'm not sure if they kept a communication lacrima with them."

"We'll wait for him."

"Wait for who?" asked Happy.

In a blink of an eye, a dark-haired man appeared out of thin air, startling the crowd. With him, a magic wheelchair was placed on the floor.

"I'm back, Master." Mest greeted. "Please try not to break it this time." He was pointing at the brand new wheelchair. Makarov used his arms to propel himself, jumping from the bar countertop onto his wheelchair. After getting comfortable in his seat, he eyed the man who seemed to be perplexed at the current mood of the guild. "Did something happen?" The teleporting mage muttered. _Ah, that's right..._ He remembered the ruckus caused by the blond-haired kid from earlier. _But that kid's nowhere to be found now_. _What happened to him?_

Makarov then cleared his throat. "Mest, there is something important I want you to do." Mest quirked his brow at the sudden request. "But before you ask, you should know what happened here earlier. I'm gonna go up to my office for a bit and look for my stamp. Mira, kindly orient Mest about the situation."

And so Mira told him what happened, the shortest explanation of it. As everyone expected, Mest was in shock. _Laxus was that kid?! And he was brought here from the past by a book written by his mother?_ It looked like he missed a lot in his short trip to get a wheelchair for Makarov.

A few minutes passed, the old man returned to the first floor, holding enveloped letters sealed in wax, each bearing the stamp of Fairy Tail on it. He gave them to Mest and instructed, "I want you to deliver these to Levy, the King and the client himself in Crocus. We need Levy back here as soon as possible. How many days do you think you can return with her?"

"About two days at least."

"If that's not too much to ask of you…"

"I understand." Mest gave him an affirming nod. "I'm on it." In a second, he was gone. Makarov silently thanked the man.

"So what do we do now?" Natsu asked, to which Makarov exhaled deeply.

"We wait."

…

* * *

…

An hour and a half later, Porlyusica exited the infirmary and went downstairs to meet the waiting crowd.

"How is he?!" Natsu and Makarov loudly asked at the same time. The others rose up from their seats as well, moving closer to Porlyusica.

The healer closed her eyes and harrumphed before replying. "I see you've revealed who he is. Laxus is out of danger." _For now, at least_ , she wanted to add, however that was only meant for the child's lone relative to hear. Porlyusica turned on her heel and walked back to the infirmary room, not caring the least how the others demanded to know more about Laxus' condition.

"Makarov." She called him out without looking back, signaling that they need to speak in private. Makarov understood immediately and infused a portion of his magic onto his wheelchair, trailing behind the healer. Once they were inside, he summoned a silencing spell and placed it on the door, so that no prying ears would hear what they needed to talk about.

He wheeled towards the sole occupant of the bed nearest to the window.

There he was, little Laxus, resting peacefully. On the table side was a small lacrima crystal that glowed bright green, illuminating his body in its healing light.

It still felt surreal to Makarov. Seeing him like this reminded him of many things from the past.

…

Things he wished for the longest time not to happen again.

"Laxus…"

Makarov squeezed the child's small hand hard, as if to distract himself from his wandering thoughts. Brushing his blond locks up, his fingers slightly peeled off the patch of gauze latched on his temple, inspecting the head wound from earlier. He was relieved to see that it wasn't too deep nor it would leave a nasty scar. Placing the gauze back, he rested his hand again on Laxus' and kept quiet afterwards.

"I've put him under a sleeping spell. He won't wake up for at least two days to hasten the healing." Porlyusica informed him.

Makarov thanked her, his soft gaze never leaving the child's sleeping face.

"He already has _that_ lacrima." Porlyusica bluntly put out.

"I figured." The titan mage curtly replied.

The old woman looked over to her friend before placing her palm on the child's chest.

"It's at the first stage, Makarov."

"I see." It was then that Makarov's expression hardened. "Then this is going to be a problem."

"Problem is an understatement." The healer retorted, her brows furrowing. "Now, explain how this happened."

He handed her the book. Porlyusica studied the cover before opening it. On the first page, she saw the familiar name pressed on the bottom.

"Lauryn, huh?" Her fingers brushed against the cryptic text, sensing the said mage's magic in each of those letters. _This is definitely her._ She let out a scoff. "Even in death, she's still as bothersome."

"Porlyusica…" Makarov began.

"You know well enough that even I cannot undo this level of enchantment. No one aside from her knew how to." After flipping through the pages, she gave back the book to her old friend.

"I'm well aware of that. I'm just…this is confusing me." The titan mage paused for a short while.

"Why would she do this?" He asked, pleading for answer as he looked up to his former teammate. Needless to say, Porlyusica was equally lost as him.

"Who knows? We'll have to find out. And quickly." Her sharp eyes then trained on Laxus' prone form. "Before things get out of hand for this boy."

Makarov clenched his jaw.

"I've done what I can for now. He's not allowed to get stressed out. The new surrounding must have been the reason for the flare-up."

 _Flare-up, huh?_

Makarov rubbed the back of his grandson's hand with his thumb, worried that he had regained that kind of condition again from his childhood. It was always dangerous, whenever Laxus had those attacks. Makarov witnessed it happen many times and each time he hadn't gotten used to it.

Even earlier, when he was still in his original adult body, Makarov knew he was suffering from the after-effects of a flare-up. From a short distance away, he felt Laxus' magic reserves running dry. That, his irritable behavior, and the story how Merchant Square was destroyed added to his speculation. He had a slip-up of his control. _That reckless brat._

Greeting him back in one piece from that S-class quest and his accident at Crocus lessened his concern. He chose not to pay it much attention, believing that the man was already capable enough of handling himself, unlike when he was still a sickly kid.

 _But right now…If Laxus had another attack again, he will surely—_

"Makarov…" The healer's call drew him from his thoughts. "There's also something else you need to see."

Porlyusica bent towards the boy and without much grace, rolled his body over. She pulled up the top scrub Laxus was wearing. Makarov looked in and almost stood up from his wheelchair at the horrific sight.

"H-How did that…!"

On the blond child's back were scars. Red, angry scars that resembled claw marks.

And they were all looking fresh.

"H-How…" Makarov couldn't even finish his sentence and just blanched at the sight. His hand shakily reached out, brushing his fingers along those scars. "I-I've never seen these before…"

Porlyusica frowned warily. _This boy is certainly the same as himself from the past._ Whether that was a good thing or not, she didn't know. Seeing Makarov became a stuttering mess however confirmed how far the foolish brat would go for _him._

"When did this happen?!" Makarov exclaimed in disbelief, racking up his mind for signs years ago. He tried to remember as hard as he can, but he couldn't recall a single memory where Laxus had gotten these injuries at this age. He turned his head to Porlyusica then back to the sleeping child.

"I-I made sure to visit him when he wasn't at the guild and…H-How could I possibly miss this?!" The thought that his grandson might had kept this a secret from him all these years, not being able to help him…or at least be there to hear his troubles.

He was at loss for words.

"There's one more." The healer straightforwardly said. "At the back of his head."

The old man's eyes couldn't get any wider. He hurriedly moved closer to touch the boy's head. A few seconds… and then he felt it. It was like a cut of some sort, expertly hidden among his golden hair.

"Rest assured it isn't another lacrima." Porlyusica quickly added, hoping it would quell Makarov's growing anger. Her words fell on deaf ears though as Makarov gritted his teeth hard in pure rage, realizing there could only be one person who could have done this atrocity.

One person who had the gall to cut and tear up his own son like a cheap piece of meat.

…

"Ivan."

...

* * *

…

"How is he, gramps?!" Natsu yelled to Makarov's face. "Why'd you left us out here, huh?!" He and the others were all standing on the other side of the infirmary door, waiting for the two to leave the room. Porlyusica scowled at this sudden intrusion and harshly pushed herself out of the crowd, muttering how awful humans were with personal space.

"Well?" Gray followed. "Aren't you gonna tell us, gramps?"

Makarov hesitated for a second. "He's fine now." The words came out forced. He could tell that these knuckleheads surrounding him looked unconvinced.

"Porlyusica already healed him, but it would take at least two days for him to regain consciousness."

A wave of relief washed over some of the members while the others kept curious about Laxus' situation.

"Did she tell what was wrong with him?" inquired Eflman.

Makarov's jaw tensed. "Magic flare-up."

In the middle of the crowd, Mira immediately froze. Blue eyes went round as she recalled Laxus mentioning those same words to her earlier.

"Flare-up?" Gray questioned, "What's that?"

"Magic flare-up." Makarov began, "Also known as magic overload to some."

 _Magic overload?_ The demon mage repeated to herself. Now that she remembered, Laxus didn't explain to her exactly what it meant.

"You're all aware that we wizards have magic containers holding Ethernanos, the building blocks of all magic, inside our bodies…" The crowd nodded in agreement. Makarov continued. "Flare-up occurs when the magic container suddenly overflows with too much Ethernanos."

Mira and the rest listened intently where this was going.

"When that happens, eventually the container wouldn't be able to handle all the power. It automatically lets out the pent up energy." Makarov paused, looking down. "A torrent of magic energy is released, and the attack itself doesn't discriminate, as you all have seen. The wizard would have no control over it. And what's worse…" The old man closed his eyes. "It usually leaves one with almost zero magic."

Everyone was stunned at their spots, frightened at the last statement their Master had dropped. For a wizard, magical power is equivalent to their life source. If what the old man said was true, then having zero magic would only mean that…

"Yes. That wizard could die."

Natsu and Happy gulped. Lucy and Juvia frowned, while Cana was in between them, gently patting both their heads. Elfman stayed by his sisters' side, both wearing a shocked expression. They all remained silent, shaken, not knowing what to say.

"But didn't you tell us that Laxus will be alright?" Gray argued. "He's gonna be okay, right?"

Makarov pursed his lips. While Porlyusica managed to intervene just in time, there's no telling how much damage the next one would take.

"C'mon! Why're you all moping for?" Natsu shot back, recovering from his shock. "This is Laxus we're talkin' about!"

"Yeah, Laxus is monstrously strong!" Happy chimed in defiantly. The others got out of their trance.

Cana smirked. "Happy's right. Can't peg him without giving a fight."

"Laxus is a man."

"Juvia agrees!" The blue-haired water mage turned to the ice mage. "Gray-sama should believe in Laxus-san too!"

Gray frowned slightly and folded his arms. "I wasn't doubting in the first place. Just askin' gramps."

"Pfft. You totally were." Natsu snorted. An irritated tick appeared on Gray's temple. "Say that again and I'll _end_ you."

"Natsu, I think Gray just made a pun." Happy snickered.

"Oh yeah? Think you can do it, huh?"

Lucy only sighed at her teammates. "This isn't the right time to start something, you two…"

Natsu and Gray stopped glaring daggers at each other, the former reverting his attention to Makarov and said, "Laxus won't go down easily! Not until I get to beat his ass, right gramps?"

Makarov stared wide-eyed at his guild brats before letting out a deep long sigh. Despite all the stress he dealt with at the infirmary, he was beyond relieved there were people who greatly believed in his grandson's grit.

"Does this mean Laxus might flare-up again?" Mira asked, voice brimming in concern.

Makarov agreed with a nod. "It is highly likely. Laxus at this point in time doesn't have the greatest control on his magic."

"How did he end up having these flare-ups anyways?" inquired Cana.

"He had it since birth. It was the reason why he was always sick as a child." Makarov's expression suddenly turned serious. "…It was also why Ivan pushed to implant a dragon slayer lacrima inside Laxus, to stop these 'flare-ups' from happening."

 _"To cure this stupid sickness, so he could stop being pathetic and be a true wizard!"_ His son angrily argued to him one day. He and Lauryn never got the chance to say no. Not when the deed had already been done. The old man balled his fist tightly at the memory.

"It does seem a bit off though" Lucy commented, drawing all the attention to her. "Dragon slayer magic is a powerful kind of magic. That by itself would make it difficult to control, right? Laxus is already a dragon slayer by now, yet he still gets this flare-up attacks." The crowd nodded as they listened, following what the blonde girl was saying. "Isn't it like putting too much water on a full glass? I mean, how does the lacrima work for Laxus' benefit? Aside from getting dragon slayer magic?"

Nobody knew the response to that, but everyone's gears began rolling as they thought about Lucy's point. Except for Natsu.

"Maybe our magic's too awesome it can cure diseases." The pinkette gloated while the others sweat dropped at his opinion.

Makarov, while knowing the truth, didn't answer.

"Alright! That's enough worrying for today." He announced, glancing at the clock. "You blockheads should all go home."

All eyes looked up at the wall clock and complied. The majority took off, saying their goodbyes to their Master and wishing young Laxus upstairs on a fast recovery. The core members chose to stay behind nonetheless.

"Can we at least see him?!" demanded Natsu. The others were also insistent. Makarov grunted in response. "I won't allow it for now. Leave the boy for the time being."

"But—"

"No buts, Natsu. Or any of you. Let the boy have his rest."

The pinkette grumbled for a second. "Fine." He then grinned at Lucy. "Let's go get some dinner somewhere, Lucy. I'm starvin'!"

The celestial mage faintly blushed at Natsu's sudden invitation, but it quickly died down when he declared it was her treat, to which Happy snickered, flying behind them. Juvia and Gray followed suit, as well as Cana, planning to go bar-hopping for the rest of the evening.

Only Mira and her siblings remained.

"Master…" The demon mage began. Her heavenly smile didn't touch her lips that moment, and her eyes were overshadowed by shame. Makarov looked up at her and softly sighed.

"Don't blame yourself, Mirajane." He gently grabbed her hand and gave her a small smile. "None of this is your fault."

"But I—"

"Didn't I tell you lot? No buts."

Mira was about to repeat the same word but stopped herself short. She bit her bottom lip and slowly nodded.

"He'll be fine. Trust me." The titan mage reassured her. He let go of her hand and said, "Now, you go along with Elfman and Lisanna and have some dinner. I'll be the one closing the guild for tonight."

"Okay..." She paused, before saying, "I'm sorry, Master." Makarov's gaze softened. He watched her retreat to her siblings who were waiting for her at the guild's entrance. Lisanna and Elfman waved their goodbye at the old man and left.

Certain that no one stayed behind inside the hall, Makarov decided to close down. As he was about to get the locks, he realized that the walls and ceilings were full of holes. The floor had two huge craters. His office got struck. Not to mention he himself broke the entrance door.

And that the guild overall looked like a huge wreck.

A gust of wind flew over him.

"What the hell!" Makarov cried out, his soul almost leaving him comically then and there. "What am I supposed to lock if everything is goddamn broken?!"

Well, not everything though _._ The bar was still intact as well as the infirmary. After he pushed his thoughts off of dealing with repair bills in the coming days, he heaved a deep long sigh and wheeled upstairs.

Makarov quietly went inside the room. He brought his chair to the bedside, his shoulder sagging as he relaxed on his seat. The window was slightly open and a chilly wind passed through, so he covered the sleeping child in another blanket. It was nearing October, hence the weather gradually turning colder.

The old man let his fingers run through his golden hair. He chuckled hoarsely, recalling how he used to do that whenever the boy stayed at his place. Every night before his bedtime, he would always share stories about Fairy Tail and his adventures. And young Laxus would convince him to let him join the guild, so he can experience the same things as he did.

Those were truly the good times. When his love for Fairy Tail knew no bounds.

His heart started to ache.

Makarov curled his hand onto his small fingers.

"Laxus…"

He chewed his bottom lip as he remembered the scars. As well as other things.

He would deal with Ivan at another time.

 _One problem at a time._

…

From the corner of his eyes, he saw the enchanted book lying on the side table. He grabbed it and gently placed it on Laxus' chest. Pulled out his small arms from the covers and made him loosely embrace it. Makarov stared at the book and his grandson. Just then, his eyes slowly grew wide at the familiar sight.

He could clearly remember it now. It was the book the boy always fiddled with back then. At the hospital and in his house. Sometimes, even at the guild.

And it was also the same book given to him. By her.

 _"When the right time comes..."_

He remembered those last words.

Makarov darted his eyes through the window, at the star-filled sky. It was cloudless, serene as it was that night.

"Lauryn."

He whispered to no one.

"What in the world were you thinking?"

…

* * *

...

Dinner was silent in the Strauss household that night. Around the dinner table, Elfman and Lisanna kept sharing worried glances at each other. They were concerned about their eldest sister's unusual silence.

She was still upset at herself for what happened, they could tell, since she didn't touch much of her food and went to the kitchen without a word, cleaning up the dishes. Elfman apparently had left some unwashed that morning, so she put that as an excuse to retreat from the two. Or at least, that's what they thought.

Elfman stopped chewing his meat and frowned down at his plate. Everyone in the guild knew it wasn't really Mira's fault. It was Laxus' mother who created the spell and trapped her own son in a child's body, not Mira. He couldn't understand fully why his sister was brooding when nobody was pointing fingers at her. Even Master Makarov himself didn't.

Sigh. Elfman tensed his jaw and spoke.

"Nee-chan, I think it's unmanly to blame yourself."

He was a little afraid what she might say after; at rare times Mira had been quiet, it scared his wits. However he couldn't just stand watching her get stressed out any further. When he got no reply, he took it as a good sign and spoke again.

"It ain't manly to punish yourself for things you can't control." He paused for a moment. "You said that to me before…when Sayla took over me."

Still no reply.

"I didn't mean to wreck the guild that time. And I know you didn't mean to…you know…either." He scratched the back of his head, his mouth fumbling for more words. "I mean, Laxus' mom is…was…urgh. I'm not blaming her either! Or…I don't know." Sigh. "I'm not good with this."

Elfman heard soft giggling from where the kitchen sink was. He sighed in relief this time, glad his poor attempt of a pep-talk worked at least to make her giggle.

"Me and Lisanna don't want you—Lisanna?!"

He turned around and saw Lisanna smiling teasingly from the kitchen.

"Who do you think you're talking to, Elf-nii-chan?" Lisanna asked amused, even though she knew the answer.

"I thought you were Nee-chan!"

"Mira-nee went to her room minutes ago." The animal soul mage informed him. Elfman hung his head at that, slightly embarrassed at his little spiel. He stood up and decided to go to Mira's room when Lisanna pulled his arm.

"Let's leave her for now." She softly requested, flashing a small smile at her brother. Elfman opened his mouth to argue, but Lisanna shook her head. He couldn't say no to that. The beast soul mage sighed in defeat, trusting Lisanna's suggestion.

With that, they cleaned up after themselves and rested for the night.

...

* * *

...

Mira retired early to her bed after a quick shower. She retreated to her room before Lisanna and Elfman did, willing herself to sleep off her exhaustion. Half an hour later, she heard the doors to her siblings' room being shut. The light from the living room was turned off, and shortly Elfman's loud snores traveled its way to her ears.

She sighed to herself. _I made them worry, those two…_

She made a mental note to apologize to them tomorrow.

"…"

A few minutes passed, Mira was still gazing blankly at her room's ceiling.

…

 _Laxus…_

Her mind couldn't stop drifting towards him.

 _If only I hadn't been too curious…_

Mira sighed again, swaddling herself in her blanket. Burying her face on her cuddle pillow, she let out her bottled up frustration, muffled, not to alert her siblings. She felt slightly more relaxed after that, and lightly chuckled to herself how silly it was. It worked to calm her worries though, so it didn't matter.

What mattered to her now was how to break the spell and turn him back to normal.

She rolled over to the side, her body facing the window. She looked up at the gleaming stars for a short while until her determined eyes began to tire.

A yawn escaped her lips. Sleep was finally coming to her.

…

 _I wish you're okay._

So sleep she did.

...

* * *

...

"Mmh…"

...

White.

…

A bright white light flashed before her.

…

"Mmhn…" She groaned, curling up under her blanket, eyes shutting tightly. Only when she did so, she felt colder and stiffer. As if she was sleeping on the floor all night and not on her bed. And did Elfman and Lisanna took her pillow?

Mira jolted up, startled. Indeed she wasn't on her bed. Or at her home. Everything was too white and her eyes were barely adjusting. Slowly she stood up and found herself standing in the middle of a hallway. Looking around, she noticed there wasn't anyone other than her present.

"W-Where am I?"

She took a step and was surprised that she was clothed in her usual black ribbon dress. Wasn't she in her room trying to sleep just a while ago? How did she end up here?

"What is this place?"

Just then, her ears picked up some small chatters from the corner of the hallway. She quickly walked towards the source and saw two nurses turning around in her direction. She sighed in relief knowing she wasn't alone in this place. So she was in a hospital, judging from the women's uniform.

A hospital with no doors and windows.

"Excuse me!" She called out to them. They didn't stop to look at her as they continued talking to each other while walking. Mira paced closer to the women.

"Excuse me, may I know where—"

Mira let out a gasp. The nurses…they looked different. Their complexion was greyscale in contrast to her creamy white skin. No, not just their skin. Their overall look was void of any color other than grey. And even so, they still acted as normal.

 _Who are these people?_

The nurses were about to pass by her. Mira raised her hand to get their attention. She reached for one of the nurse's shoulder.

"Um, hello? Can I ask—"

Again, Mira gasped. She immediately retracted her hand. The nurses continued to walk towards their destination as if they didn't notice the other person with them.

Mira's hand passed through the nurse's body. And it seemed they couldn't see or hear her too.

"How…"

The demon mage retreated from her spot and ran. She tried to muster up her magical energy inside her but it wasn't responding to her call. She decided to find the nearest exit, passing through other people like a ghost. Once she found it, she reached for the knob but a white barrier pulsed and she was pushed back, preventing her escape. Mirajane tried to punch and kick it with her bare strength, however there was no getting out of it.

She was trapped.

"How did I get in here?" She panicked when she felt pain from biting her cheek, realizing this wasn't just a dream she was in.

Mira wandered around the place, hoping to find clues how to get out or any sort of explanation why she ended up imprisoned in this place. After eavesdropping on two passing nurses' conversation, she couldn't believe it that she was in fact inside Magnolia's hospital. It soon made sense to her when suddenly, white tiles appeared out of nowhere and doors began to form on the walls. The whole place looked more like a hospital now, but it wasn't exactly the one she remembered from her teen years.

She readied her fighting stance, waiting for the moment the enemy would appear and strike her, but nothing happened after. Walking around a bit more, Mira found the hospital lobby. She stayed there to observe and listen to people, however nothing seemed important.

That was until her eyes landed on a small calendar posted on the wall.

Her hand flew over to her mouth in shock.

 _W-What? But how?_

Year X766.

Her throat instantly dried up as she soaked that piece of information. She took a step back and fled in a haste, banging a few doors and windows hard along the way, shouting for help. Not a single soul heard her though, moreover she couldn't enter the rooms; the white barrier from earlier were still in effect. As seconds passed, she was having difficulty keeping herself calm.

What was she doing 27 years in the past?

…

* * *

...

Mira was getting nowhere with all her running. She stopped to catch her breath and realized she was standing at the exact same spot where she first saw herself was. There were a lot more people passing through her now compared to earlier. She didn't even bother this time to move her body to avoid herself from bumping into them.

"Why am I here?"

Out of the sudden, she felt a tug. However, it wasn't a normal, physical tug. A person just passed through her from behind…and a strange, warm sensation rolled through her body. Her ocean blue eyes widened as that person, a woman, was the first and only being in this place wearing color aside from her. She was a lot taller than Mira even without her high-heeled sandals, probably a bit taller than Cana. This woman was clothed in a white dress layered under a hoodless dark-blue cloak. Her mid-back, half-tied hair were as yellow and radiant as the bouquet of sunflowers she was holding on her arms.

Mira could only see her back. She wondered what the woman looked like up front.

And if she was the one responsible for this.

Breaking off from her daze, the demon mage followed her, careful as possible not to raise any suspicion. She saw her enter a room on the farthest corner of the corridor and Mira cursed herself that she didn't stop the woman at the onset to confront her. Clearly, she was different from everyone else.

The demon mage stood outside the door. She touched the knob and was surprised that her hand passed through. Unlike the doors she tried to bust in earlier, this one wasn't enchanted with a barrier.

As soon as she stepped in, she saw the woman in question removed the sunflowers from their wrapping and transferred them onto a white porcelain vase seated on the side table. Her back was still facing Mira.

The white-haired mage kept silent and quickly looked around. The room was small and simple. Aside from the tiny side table, it only housed a chair, a coat stand and a bed covered in hospital curtains. Mira couldn't see who exactly this mysterious woman was visiting. She figured this bedridden person might also be important.

Slowly, she approached the woman. "Excuse me." The woman frowned, making Mira halt. "Miss, can you hear me?" She gingerly asked from her distance.

Not looking back at her, she shook her head. _"Hmm..."_

Following the woman's gaze, Mira noticed that the sunflower stalks were too tall for the vase. The woman grabbed a stalk and snapped its stem short. Then, to Mira's surprise, she used that snapped part to cut the other stems like a sharp blade, even though it certainly didn't look like one!

 _So I was right. This woman is a mage!_

Mira continued to observe the blond woman from the doorway. The said woman put the newly-cut stalks inside the porcelain vase and arranged them, humming happily while doing so. After finishing, her hand clasped the leftover stems, pulverized them into dust and vanished it with a swift blow.

Mira narrowed her eyes suspiciously. _That magic she just did... I haven't seen it before._

Just then, the woman turned around her direction. Mira was taken by surprise as she could now see her full appearance. Thin and perfectly arched eyebrows peeking through her blonde fringes, deep set dark-blue eyes, pointy nose, cheeks faintly rosy as well as her lips. Her other facial features were soft and alluring; Mira honestly thought the woman didn't even need the minimal make up she was wearing for them to be accentuated.

She was quite beautiful.

And somewhat familiar.

…

 _"Hm? Did I just imagine it?"_ She heard the woman mutter before turning her back on the door.

Taking this chance, Mira inched closer. She called her out again but the woman didn't respond. Just as the barmaid's hand was about to touch her shoulders, the blonde woman suddenly went stiff. Her body pivoted to the side and Mira thought she was about to be grabbed by her hand. Instead, it grasped the bed curtain and quietly pulled it open.

There was a bit of shuffling underneath the white blankets. The woman lightly smirked as she gently sat down on the side of the bed, leaning forward. _"I know you're awake."_ She whispered in a playful tone.

The one hiding under the covers didn't stir though. The woman playfully smiled and poked the bedridden person's side. It earned her a jolt. Her smile grew wider at that and went on going full force at tickling this person.

 _"Stop…Stop…tickles!"_ A child's voice pleaded in between laughs.

Mira froze the second she heard it. Her eyes widened. _That voice…_

 _"Not until you say 'please'."_

 _"Please!"_

 _"Are you sure? You look like you're enjoying it~"_ The woman teased.

 _"P-Please…"_ The child continued to wriggle and laugh under the blanket. All the while, Mira's heart raced, realizing who the person was underneath. She darted her gaze back at the woman and eyed her warily.

 _Could it be…this person is…_

 _"Alright, I'll stop now."_ The woman announced in mock defeat, and soon after she was tackled by two short arms wrapping around her neck. The woman chuckled and ruffled the tuft of blond hair peeking through the blanket. The moment it completely fell over, Mira felt her chest tightened.

" _Mama!"_ A big wide grin happily greeted the woman. _"You're back!"_

 _"Hey sweetie."_ This woman, Lauryn, smiled softly and lightly pressed a kiss on Laxus' forehead.

 _"I'm home."_ She whispered.

…

* * *

…

 **Author's Note:** Wow this was really long. Personally I had such a hard time writing this chapter because I needed to lay down a lot of foreshadowing. I might have overdone it and drown you guys with too much info. My apologies for that, but I had to get them all out here before Laxus/Yuri wakes up. If there's anything confusing, or anything you want to say (please related to this fic only) you can leave a PM or review and I'll keep it in mind for the next chapters.

 **Other stuff to note (you might not want to skip this):** *In the manga, Laxus didn't know who Yuri was until Mavis mentioned him in Ryuuzetsu Land. In this fic, he knew about Yuri- his magic and how they're related to each other.  
*I made Lucy more knowledgeable about the history of Ishgar, assuming she was home-tutored when she was at the Heartfilia state with this kind of stuff. The Second Trade War legitimately happened.  
*Eastern language is also legitimate in FT universe. Levy calls it language of the orient though. It was mentioned at chapter 211. Its importance in the plot will be further explained in the next chapter.  
*Makarov's 'magic wheelchair' is all made-up. I imagine it having a lacrima which can store magic to make it float, kinda like Hades' ship but a wheelchair.  
*Lastly, please don't judge my OC too fast. ;_; We're still at the fifth chapter. This is just the intro.

The next one is going to include more characterizations and follow-up explanations, I promise! It'll also be lighter at the end. But just to give you a heads-up, I'll probably upload it after I update my other fic, _Demon in the Spark_ (finally!) _._ So yeah. Whew. This is such a long AN. I'm out. Thanks for reading!

-AwkwardToffee


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